[Edaily Starin YUN GI BACK Reporter] Director Na Hong-jin’s film “Hope” continued its box office run, maintaining the top spot on its second day of release. The cumulative number of viewers has surpassed 620,000. With the film currently leading the advance ticket sales rankings by a wide margin, attention is focused on the possibility of it surpassing 1 million viewers today (the 17th).

According to the Korean Film Council’s Integrated Computerized Ticket System on the 17th, “Hope” drew 274,449 viewers on the 16th alone, securing the top spot at the box office. The cumulative audience count stands at 625,716. Following its record-breaking opening day—the highest of the year—the film has maintained the top spot for two consecutive days, leading the summer box office.
Advance ticket sales are also booming. As of 9:00 a.m. that day, “Hope” had 525,503 advance ticket sales, ranking first overall. It continues to dominate the box office, leading by a wide margin over second-place “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” (142,055 viewers) and third-place “Minions & Monsters” (82,527 viewers). If the current trend continues, the film is expected to easily surpass the 1 million viewer mark by the end of the day.
Second place went to “Minions & Monsters.” Attracting 30,648 viewers per day, it has remained a steady choice among family audiences. With the summer vacation season in full swing, the film continues to perform well, drawing primarily children and families.
The Disney animated film “Moana” ranked third, drawing 19,026 viewers, and has recorded a cumulative total of 598,562 viewers. Next, “The Eye” took fourth place with 16,757 viewers (cumulative total of 1,355,660), while “Toy Story 5” added 11,751 viewers (cumulative total of 2,635,463) to claim fifth place.
The government’s movie discount coupon program is also contributing to the summer box office boom. To mark the summer peak season, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korean Film Council have distributed 2.05 million 6,000-won movie discount coupons to boost theater attendance. According to CJ CGV, as of the 16th, about half of the total coupons had been used. With blockbusters like “Hope” drawing in audiences and the added benefit of discounts, the overall theater industry is said to be experiencing a rare surge of vitality.
Currently, the box office is being led by “Hope,” which targets adult audiences, and “Minions & Monsters,” which is a hit among family audiences; the two films are attracting different demographics and driving summer box office success. With “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” set to open on the 29th, competition in the summer box office is expected to intensify further.
“Hope” tells the story of Beom-seok, the head of the Hopo Port branch office near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), who, after receiving a report from local youths about a tiger sighting, is confronted with an unbelievable series of events that shake the entire village. The film stars Hwang Jung-min, Jo In-sung, Jung Ho-yeon, Taylor Russell, Cameron Britton, Alicia Vikander, and Michael Fassbender.