[Edaily Starin Choi Hee-jae Reporter] With three highly anticipated Korean films targeting the Chuseok holiday opening simultaneously today (the 23rd), “The Assassin(s)” has surged to the top in advance ticket sales on its opening day. By surpassing even the long-running hit “The Odyssey,” it appears to have seized the early momentum in the box office battle for the Chuseok holiday.

According to the Korean Film Council’s integrated computer network on the 23rd, as of 8:00 a.m. that day, “Assassins” had recorded 233,504 advance tickets sold, ranking first in overall advance ticket sales. This figure is more than 100,000 tickets ahead of “The Odyssey” (130,439 tickets), which ranked second.
“Tazza: The Song of Beelzebub,” which opened on the same day, ranked third with 116,177 tickets. Following that, “Chiikawa: The Secret of Mermaid Island” took fourth place with 58,069 tickets, “The Intern” took fifth, and “Possible Love” took sixth.
“The Assassin(s)” is a story that investigates the suspicions and forces behind the First Lady assassination attempt that shocked South Korea on August 15, 1974. Starring Yoo Hae-jin, Park Hae-il, and Lee Min-ho, the film depicts the tense relationships among the characters involved in the incident. It was directed by Hur Jin-ho, known for films such as “Astronomy: Asking the Sky” and “Princess Deokhye.” Director of photography Lee Mo-gae, who has worked on films like “Exhumation” and “Spring in Seoul,” joined the project as early as the storyboard stage, contributing to the film’s high quality.

“Tazza: The Song of Beelzebub” is the final chapter in the “Tazza” series, which has spanned 20 years. It is a crime thriller in which Jang Tae-young (played by Byun Yo-han)—who thought he had it all thanks to his online casino business—and his best friend Park Tae-young (played by Noh Jae-won), a namesake who took everything from him, meet again on the global gambling scene to face off in a high-stakes showdown fueled by revenge.
Director Lee Chang-dong’s new film, “Possible Love”—his first in eight years—also premieres today. The story follows two couples—Ho-seok (played by Seol Kyung-gu), a laid-off worker, and his wife Mi-ok (played by Jeon Do-yeon); and documentary director Ye-ji (played by Jo Yeo-jeong) and her husband Sang-woo (played by Jo In-sung)—who come together to produce a documentary and are forced to confront each other’s different lives and hidden desires. It will open in select theaters ahead of its Netflix release this November.
Following *Odyssey*, which has already surpassed 11 million viewers, and *The Intern*, which opened a week earlier and continues to draw crowds, the competition in the Chuseok box office has begun in earnest with the successive releases of *The Assassin(s)*, *Tazza: The Song of Beelzebub*, and *Possible Love*. In particular, attention is focused on whether “The Assassin(s),” which outperformed its competitors in advance ticket sales, will be able to maintain its lead in ticket sales after its actual release and remain at the top of the box office during the Chuseok holiday.