'Ant-Man and the Wasp' rules weekend box office with nearly 2 mln admissions

By Shim Sun-ah

SEOUL, July 9 (Yonhap) -- Marvel Studios' "Ant-Man and the Wasp" dominated the South Korean box office, drawing nearly 2 million moviegoers in its first weekend, as local crime comedy "Accidental Detective 2: In Action" crossed 3 million in attendance, data showed Monday.

The latest superhero sequel was seen by 1.91 million people from Friday to Sunday, generating 17.32 billion won (US$15.5 million), according to the box office tally from the Korean Film Council. The film has collected 2.6 million views since it opened on Wednesday.

Local supernatural thriller "The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion" fell to second with 451,113 admissions.

Starring new actress Kim Da-mi and directed by Park Hoon-jung, the movie tells the story of a girl who is raised by an old couple after losing her memory but regains her power and memory in the process of being chased by a mysterious group of people with supernatural powers.

Director Lee Joon-ik's latest "Sunset in My Hometown" debuted at No. 3 with 179,787 views.

The drama, which stars Park Jung-min and Kim Go-eun, tells the story of an unpopular rapper going back to his hometown to be faced with childhood memories that he has always wanted to erase.

"Accidental Detective 2: In Action" slipped to fourth from its prior spot at No. 2, drawing 93,549 cinemagoers in its fourth weekend in the box office. But the cumulative ticket sales for the crime comedy starring Kwon Sang-woo, Sung Dong-il and Lee Kwang-soo reached 3,061,041.

The Chinese animated film "Happy Little Submarine: Magic Box of Time" landed in fifth place in its second weekend, selling 27,566 tickets.

sshim@yna.co.kr
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