[Weekend Box Office] Director Yeon Sang-ho's 'The Face' Puts the Brakes on 'Demon Slayer's' Winning Streak

A scene from the movie 'The Face' [Courtesy of Plus M Entertainment & Wow Point. Resale and DB prohibited]

 The Japanese animated film 'Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Infinity Castle Arc' (hereinafter 'Infinity Castle') has surrendered its number-one spot at the box office for the first time since its release, being overtaken by director Yeon Sang-ho’s new film, 'The Face'.

According to the Korean Film Council's integrated network for movie theater tickets on the 12th, 'The Face,' starring Park Jung-min, claimed the top spot at the domestic box office on its opening day yesterday, drawing approximately 35,000 viewers (22.6% of sales share).

'Infinity Castle,' which had held the number-one spot at the box office for 20 consecutive days since its release on the 22nd of last month, fell to second place for the first time, garnering about 33,000 viewers (24.1% of sales share). The cumulative audience for 'Infinity Castle' is approximately 4.13 million.

Based on the webtoon of the same name by director Yeon Sang-ho, 'The Face' tells the story of Im Dong-hwan, the son of a blind seal-engraving master, as he uncovers the secrets surrounding his mother's death.

Park Jung-min plays dual roles as the young Im Young-gyu and his son Im Dong-hwan, with Kwon Hae-hyo, Shin Hyun-been, Im Sung-jae, and Han Ji-hyun also starring in the film. It is a low-budget production with a budget in the 200 million won range, filmed over three weeks with a small crew of about 20 people.

Third place at the box office went to the thriller 'Murder Report,' starring Cho Yeo-jeong and Jung Sung-il, which was released on the 5th and attracted about 13,000 viewers (8.8% of sales share).

As of 9:00 AM on this day, the top spot in ticket reservations went to director Park Chan-wook's 'Can't Help It,' set for release on the 24th. It recorded a reservation rate of 30.3% with approximately 181,000 tickets reserved.

The second most reserved film is 'Infinity Castle' with approximately 130,000 reservations (21.9% reservation rate), followed by 'The Face' in third place with approximately 44,000 reservations (7.4% reservation rate).