‘I, The Executioner’ Breaks $30 Million at Korean Box Office in First Six Days

The South Korean crime comedy “The Executioner” has grossed more than $30 million on its sixth day of release, making it one of the fastest films in the country’s history to reach that milestone.

Kobis, the theater data service of the Korean Film Council, reported that the film had grossed 3.71 million admissions and $27.2 million on Tuesday night, its fifth full day in theaters.

On Wednesday morning, film distributor CJ ENM announced that total ticket sales had surpassed 4 million as of 9 a.m. local time, bringing the estimated box office gross to $30 million, which is expected to be confirmed by independent data later today.

CJ ENM did not disclose the title’s production budget but said that this level of business has allowed the film to now break even. It’s not clear whether the calculation is based solely on the company’s net revenue from distributors in Korea, or whether it also includes international rights sales and a share of theatrical revenue from sister company CJ-CGV, South Korea’s largest cinema chain.

Directed by Ryoo Seung-wan, the film is the first sequel in nine years to “Veteran,” a violent, comedic crime action film about a police officer who takes on the South Korean class system. The sequel, known locally as “Veteran 2,” stars Hwang Jung-min again, this time following a vigilante serial killer and an obsessed colleague.

The film had its world premiere out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival this year; and he recently benefited from a gala screening at the Toronto festival.

While Korean films are usually released on Wednesdays, “I, the Executioner” was released last Friday. The delay reflects Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving), which gives most workers in South Korea a five-day holiday (one weekend and a three-day weekend from Monday to Wednesday).

CJ ENM said the theatrical release of “I, The Executioner” was bigger than this year’s box office leader “Exhuma,” last year’s top-grossing title “12.12: The Day” and 2022’s “The Roundup,” the second film in a rival crime comedy franchise starring Don Lee. The company also reported that admissions were running at a faster rate than the 2015 original “Veteran.”