Kim Hye-yun's Horror Film 'Reservoir' Sparks Fear

The horror film "Salmokji," starring Kim Hye-yoon, continues its box office success, holding the top spot for 12 consecutive days. According to the Korean Film Council's integrated network for movie admissions, "Salmokji" drew 472,109 viewers over the past weekend (March 17-19), bringing its cumulative audience to 1,461,837.

"Salmokji" is a horror film that depicts what happens when an unidentified figure appears on road view, and the filming crew, heading to a reservoir for reshoots, encounters something in the dark, deep water.

The film surpassed its break-even point of 800,000 viewers in just seven days after its release and exceeded 1 million viewers on its 10th day, establishing itself as the center of the April cinema scene. At the current pace, it is expected to surpass 1.5 million viewers today.

In the box office rankings, the sci-fi blockbuster "Project Hail Mary," starring Ryan Gosling, took second place with 170,721 weekend viewers, bringing its cumulative audience to 2,298,106. Director Jang Hang-jun's "The King and the Man" ranked third with 104,955 viewers, maintaining its position as the second most-watched film in South Korean cinematic history with a cumulative audience of 16,589,540. Director Jung Ji-young and star Yum Hye-ran's "My Name Is" recorded 60,953 viewers for fourth place, with a cumulative audience of 100,141.

Notably, it broke the 1 million viewer mark at an unusually fast pace for a domestic horror film, the fastest since "Metamorphosis" released in 2019. A significant factor behind this box office success is believed to be the influence of teenage audiences who watched the film in groups of three or more. According to CGV viewing data, the proportion of teenage viewers for "Salmokji" was 10.7%, higher than that of the hit horror film "Noise" (6.9%) released last year. Furthermore, the proportion of viewers who watched in groups of three or more was also more pronounced for "Salmokji" at 13.8% compared to "Noise" (9.4%).