Korea's Weekly Box Office Slips 5.5% as Odyssey Holds Top Spot Against Six Newcomers

Korean theaters sold less in the 38th week of 2026 than the week before. Total weekly box office revenue fell 5.5%, according to the Korean Film Council’s integrated ticketing system (KOBIS), even as six titles entered the chart for the first time. The top of the table barely moved: Odyssey (오디세이) stayed in first place, and the only real reshuffling happened below it, where no film climbed and three slid down.

A holdover still outsells the biggest new release

Odyssey took in about 5.48 billion won from 434,919 admissions during the week. Its running total now stands at 11,217,599 admissions, keeping it well past the 10-million mark that defines a blockbuster in the Korean market.

The strongest debut was The Intern (인턴), which opened in second place with roughly 3.75 billion won and 382,516 admissions. Its cumulative count of 403,895 suggests a small volume of preview screenings ahead of the main opening. The gap between the two leaders is narrower on admissions than on revenue, which points to a lower average ticket price for the newcomer, a pattern typical of films with a heavier share of discounted or weekday screenings.

Obsession (옵세션) rounded out the top three with about 2.45 billion won and 226,901 admissions, taking its total to 701,709.

Concentration at the top eases

The three leading films accounted for 70.0% of the week’s total sales, down from 76.6% the previous week. That shift is the main structural change in the data. A wider spread of revenue usually comes from a crowded release slate rather than from stronger mid-table performers, and this week fits that description: the new entries absorbed audience share without lifting the overall market.

The fourth-place opener, the Korean release of the latest Resident Evil film (레지던트 이블: 0번째 밤), earned about 1.08 billion won from 103,654 admissions in its first week. Spider-Man: Brand New Day, now deep into its run, fell to fifth with about 519 million won and 60,189 admissions. Its cumulative audience of 8,990,596 leaves it just short of 9 million.

The lower half of the chart

Positions six through ten were tightly packed, with weekly revenue for each title ranging from roughly 178 million to 281 million won.

Two details stand out. The Chiikawa film earned more than The Drama despite fewer admissions, and the Digimon release out-earned Assassin(s) on the same basis. Both are Japanese animated titles, and their higher revenue per ticket is consistent with premium-format or special-edition screenings that carry a surcharge. Three of the six newcomers, Chiikawa, Digimon and Assassin(s), landed in the bottom half of the chart, which explains why the wider slate did not translate into a bigger week.

What the numbers say about the coming weeks

The week’s -5.5% revenue change came with zero upward moves in the rankings, meaning none of the holdovers found a second wind. Odyssey’s lead is large enough that it should retain first place unless a major release opens, but The Intern’s opening-week ratio of admissions to revenue is the figure worth tracking. If it holds admissions while its per-ticket yield normalizes, the gap at the top will close quickly. For the market as a whole, the drop in top-three concentration is a healthier distribution than the previous week, but it arrived alongside shrinking total sales rather than growth.

By the Numbers