Two films in the 10 million club [REWIND 2023]

“12.12: The Day” surpassed a million dollars in revenue in the North American market, becoming the biggest Korean film hit in North America this year. [YONHAP]

A scene from "12.12: The Day" [PLUS M ENTERTAINMNT]

 
Two Korean works made it to the 10 million ticket sales mark this year — “The Roundup: No Way Out” and “12.12: The Day.”

 
“The Roundup: No Way Out,” the third installment in the action franchise led by Don Lee, made the breakthrough on July 1, 32 days after its release. “12.12: The Day,” a historical film about the Dec. 12, 1979, coup d’état, achieved the feat on Christmas Eve, 33 days after its release.
 
“The Roundup: No Way Out” was generally expected to hit the 10 million mark as both the first and second films in the franchise — “The Outlaws” (2017) and “The Roundup” (2022) — easily surpassed the milestone before, but “12.12: The Day” selling over 10 million tickets gave rise to new hope for the Korean film industry, which many believe to be in a rut as of late.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]