'Salmokji' debuts atop weekend box office chart

▲ Kim Hye-yoon plays Soo-in in "Salmokji: Whispering Water," in this image provided by Showbox. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

Korean film-box office

'Salmokji' debuts atop weekend box office chart

SEOUL, April 13 (Yonhap) -- The horror thriller "Salmokji: Whispering Water" led the box office, drawing over 530,000 moviegoers in its opening weekend, data showed Monday.

The Korean film recorded 536,454 admissions from Friday to Sunday, bringing its total audience number to 724,039, according to the Korean Film Council.

Premiering last Wednesday, the movie follows a filming crew, led by Soo-in (Kim Hye-yoon), who travel to a location to complete a shoot within a deadline -- only to find themselves sinking deeper into an inescapable, swamp-like terror as time runs out.

The filming location, Salmokji, is a reservoir in Yesan County, South Chungcheong Province, long rumored among locals to be a paranormal hotspot with a history of reported ghost sightings.

Hollywood sci-fi "Project Hail Mary" came in second with 274,733 viewers for the three days to push its cumulative audience past two million since its March 18 release.

"The King's Warden" attracted 175,342 viewers, bringing its cumulative total to 16.39 million. On Saturday, it became the second most-viewed movie of all time in South Korea.

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