‘Mickey 17’ Dominates Korean Box Office with Record-Breaking $6.6M Debut
The South Korean box office witnessed a major shift this weekend as “Mickey 17” made a powerful debut, earning $6.6 million and securing an impressive 69.06% market share.
Record-Breaking Opening Weekend
Directed by Bong Joon-ho and starring Robert Pattinson, “Mickey 17” outperformed all competitors, setting a new benchmark for 2025.
The film surpassed the opening weekend earnings of “Captain America: Brave New World.”
According to Kobis, the Korean Film Council’s tracking service, the top 10 films collectively earned $9 million over the Feb. 28–March 2 weekend—a significant increase from the previous weekend’s $4.4 million.
Box Office Performance and Audience Response
“Mickey 17” follows a ‘reprinted’ worker (Pattinson) assigned dangerous tasks on a distant planetary colony. The film attracted 980,549 admissions across 2,153 screens over the weekend.
Warner Bros. reported a four-day opening total of KRW12.9 billion ($9 million), benefiting from a Friday release and the Independence Day Movement holiday on Monday. Imax screenings accounted for 9% of the weekend’s total earnings.
Other Top Performers at the Box Office
In second place, “Captain America: Brave New World” earned $721,841, holding 7.47% of the market share.
Despite a significant drop from its previous weekend, the Marvel film managed to attract 110,888 viewers, bringing its cumulative earnings to $10.5 million.
The Korean horror film “Exorcism Chronicles: The Beginning” ranked third with $568,718, accounting for 5.88% of the market share and pushing its total gross to $1.7 million.
Romantic drama “It’s Okay!” debuted in fourth place, earning $186,691 with 29,779 admissions. Directed by Kim Hye-young, the film tells the story of high school student In-young, played by Lee Re, who copes with her mother’s death.
“It’s Okay!” previously won Best Film in the Berlinale’s Generation Kplus category in 2024 and has now reached a cumulative total of $337,276.
“Paddington in Peru” secured the fifth spot with $159,116, bringing its total to $571,143.
Additional Box Office Rankings
- The South Korean remake of “You Are the Apple of My Eye” placed sixth, earning $151,499 and bringing its total to $826,449.
- “Cheer Up, Korea!” debuted in seventh place with $118,067, accumulating a total of $144,541.
- Japanese romantic drama “1st Kiss” ranked eighth with a weekend earning of $85,423, reaching a cumulative total of $154,667.
- Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown” took ninth place with $106,367, pushing its total earnings to $224,506.
- Rounding out the top ten, Korean concert documentary “Lee Chan-won Concert Anthem: Dear My Chance” grossed $255,785, bringing its total earnings to $517,422.
Bong Joon-ho’s Return to the Big Screen
Following his Oscar-winning success with “Parasite” in 2019, Bong Joon-ho’s latest project has been highly anticipated.
“Mickey 17” premiered at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival on February 15 before its Korean release on February 28. By March 2 at 6:55 a.m. KST, the film had already surpassed 1.1 million moviegoers.
Bong Joon-ho and his star-studded cast, including Naomi Ackie, Steven Yeun, Toni Collette, and Mark Ruffalo, have been actively promoting the film in South Korea.
The film is set to release in the U.S. on March 7, followed by a global theatrical rollout.
About Mickey 17: A Sci-Fi Thriller
“Mickey 17” is a dark sci-fi comedy based on Edward Ashton’s 2022 novel “Mickey7.” Robert Pattinson stars as Mickey Barnes, a disposable clone assigned high-risk tasks on a space mission.
Each time he dies, a new body is regenerated. However, the system goes awry when Mickey 17 is mistakenly presumed dead, leading to unforeseen consequences.
With its gripping storyline and stellar performances, “Mickey 17” has taken the South Korean box office by storm, solidifying Bong Joon-ho’s position as a visionary director in the sci-fi genre. The film’s success paves the way for its highly anticipated global release.
