[Edaily Starin YUN GI BACK Reporter] The movie “The Intern,” starring actors Han So-hee and Choi Min-sik, has remained at the top of the box office for four consecutive days since its release. However, on its first Saturday, the number of viewers remained in the 110,000 range, resulting in a close race with the second-place film, “Odyssey,” with a margin of only about 6,000 viewers.

According to the Korean Film Council’s integrated computer network on the 20th, “The Intern” drew 115,201 viewers on the 19th, securing the No. 1 spot at the box office. Its cumulative audience count stands at 305,063. After debuting on the 16th and immediately pushing “Odyssey” out of the top spot, it has maintained the No. 1 position for four consecutive days.
However, its audience draw is somewhat disappointing given its No. 1 ranking. In particular, considering it was the first Saturday since its release, the film failed to demonstrate explosive growth. Compared to “The Odyssey,” which was No. 1 at the box office last Saturday and drew over 200,000 viewers, “The Intern” attracted only about half that number.
The staying power of the long-running hit “The Odyssey” is also impressive. On that day, “The Odyssey” drew 108,831 viewers to take second place. Its cumulative audience count rose to 11,124,870. The daily audience gap between “The Intern” and “The Odyssey” was only 6,370.
In terms of advance ticket sales, however, “Odyssey” is actually leading. As of the morning of the 20th, “Odyssey” maintained the top spot in advance ticket sales with over 130,000 tickets sold. “The Intern” ranked third with around 60,000 tickets sold. With “The Assassin(s),” starring Yoo Hae-jin, Park Hae-il, and Lee Min-ho—set to open on the 23rd—also climbing to second place with over 120,000 advance tickets sold, competition at the box office next week is expected to become even fiercer.
“The Intern” tells the story of Seon-woo (played by Han So-hee), the CEO of a prominent fashion company, and Ki-ho (played by Choi Min-sik), a senior intern with 37 years of experience, as their paths cross. It is a Korean reinterpretation of the 2015 Hollywood film of the same name, starring Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway. Director Kim Do-young, known for “Kim Ji-young, Born 1982” and “If We,” helmed the film.
In third place is “Obsession.” It drew an additional 55,081 viewers that day, bringing its cumulative total to 656,776.