Korean Film 'The King's Man' Surpasses Extreme Job Box Office

The film "The King and the Jester" has climbed to second place in all-time box office attendance. On the 11th, its 67th day of release, it recorded a cumulative audience of 16,283,970, surpassing the final audience count of "Extreme Job" (16.26 million) released in 2019. With this, the number of domestic films to surpass 16 million viewers has increased to three: "The Admiral: Roaring Currents" (17.61 million), "Extreme Job," and "The King and the Jester."

"The King and the Jester" depicts the final days of King Danjong, the sixth king of Joseon, spent in exile in Yeongwol. It tells the story of a village chief who volunteers for exile to revitalize his village and the young former king who was dethroned. The tragic narrative of Danjong and the actors' performances generated word-of-mouth, leading to a steady influx of viewers. The film's success spread around the Lunar New Year holiday, surpassing 10 million viewers in just over a month after its release, and subsequently overtaking "Exhuma," "King and the Clown," and "12.12: The Day."

While the gap with the top-grossing film, "The Admiral: Roaring Currents," has narrowed to about 1.3 million viewers, the recent pace of audience increase has somewhat slowed. As of the previous day, the daily audience count was around 38,000, placing it third at the box office. Meanwhile, the cumulative revenue reached 156.9 billion won, ranking first among all films released domestically.

An analysis suggests that the commercial districts in the Yeongwol region of Gangwon Province are experiencing a boost due to the success of "The King and the Jester." A review of sales for small business owners in Yeongwol County, where the film was primarily shot, showed that average daily sales increased by 35.7% in the four weeks after the film's release compared to before. Notably, sales in the accommodation and food service sectors rose by 52.5%, and even compared to the same period last year, sales increased by 16.4%, indicating a tangible impact of the film's success on the local economy.

Film critic Yoon Sung-eun commented, "The film 'The King and the Jester' was brilliant in its blend of humor and emotion, a perfect formula for success. It made audiences laugh and then left them with emotional resonance, becoming a film that stays in their hearts for a long time."