[Edaily Starin Choi Hee-jae Reporter] The new popular animated film "Love Hachuping: The Legend of the Whale Gem" has recorded 120,000 advance tickets sold, signaling a promising start at the box office.

According to the Korean Film Council’s integrated computer network on the 5th, “Love Hachuping: The Legend of the Whale Gem” (Hachuping 2), which opens today, ranked third in advance ticket sales with 124,422 tickets sold as of 7:30 a.m.
While Hollywood blockbusters such as Christopher Nolan’s “The Martian” and the Marvel hit “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” took first and second place, respectively, the Korean animated film “Hatchuping 2” proved its popularity by securing third place. Among Korean films, it topped the advance ticket sales rankings, surpassing “Hope” and “Okay Madam 2.”
This figure is higher than the 94,796 viewers drawn by Disney-Pixar’s “Toy Story 5”—the highest-grossing animated film released this year—on its opening day (July 17). As the summer vacation season gets into full swing and more families begin visiting theaters with their children, the film’s box office performance is expected to gain even more momentum.
Its predecessor, *Love Hachuping*, released in 2024, drew a cumulative audience of 1.24 million, ranking as the second-highest-grossing Korean animated film of all time. “Hatchuping” gained immense popularity, even spawning the catchphrase “Bansanping” (meaning “it makes you constantly open your wallet”). Expectations are high that the sequel, returning after two years, will ride the summer vacation wave to surpass the records set by its predecessor.
“Hatchuping 2” is a fantasy animated film depicting the miraculous adventure of Romi and Hatchuping as they set out to rescue Romi’s mother, who has disappeared into the sea.