'The King's Warden' nears 5 mln admissions amid box-office dominance

▲ A still from "The King's Warden" is seen in this image provided by Showbox Co. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

SEOUL, Feb. 20 (Yonhap) -- The film "The King's Warden," which has been dominating the local box office, is expected to surpass 5 million admissions over the weekend.

According to the Korean Film Council’s integrated ticketing system on Friday, the movie drew about 239,000 moviegoers the previous day to top the daily box office. The figure is nearly four times that of second-place "Humint," which attracted around 54,000 viewers.

The film accounted for 65.8 percent of total box-office revenue that day, firmly maintaining its lead with well over half of overall ticket sales.

"The King's Warden" tells the story of deposed Joseon King Danjong spending the final period of his life among villagers in exile in Yeongwol, Gangwon Province. The film stars Yoo Hae-jin and is directed by Jang Hang-jun.

Since its release on Feb. 4, the film has held the top spot at the daily box office except for Feb. 11, when "Humint" premiered. Buoyed by positive word of mouth and strong turnout from family audiences, its cumulative admissions have reached about 4.41 million.

Currently ranking first in advance ticket sales, the film is projected to exceed the 5 million mark this weekend.

As of 9 a.m., it posted a reservation rate of 54.0 percent, with some 216,000 tickets booked in advance, followed by "Humint" at 16.3 percent, or about 65,000 reservations.

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