Godzilla Minus Zero led North America with an estimated $31.6m over 6–8 November, according to studio figures reported by Variety, while Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of the Mermaid Island topped South Korea with 149,050 admissions and KRW1.51bn ($1.11m), the Korean Film Council’s KOBIS weekend table shows. Korea’s figures are provisional ticket-sales actuals, subject to further correction.
Key facts
- North America: Godzilla Minus Zero, an estimated $31.6m gross over Friday to Sunday, 6–8 November.
- South Korea: Chiikawa, 149,050 admissions from 977 screens over the same three dates; cumulative admissions reached 2,788,843.
- FilmBunch-established: Chiikawa sold 44,574 more tickets than Final Interview, calculated from the two KOBIS weekend rows.
- FilmBunch-established: the Korean leader averaged 17.8 admissions per screening against 11.2 for Final Interview, using each film’s disclosed screenings.
- This is a two-market comparison, not a worldwide gross total; no admissions figure is ranked against a dollar gross.
The two Japanese productions led different national charts on different measures. The Korean table supplies tickets sold as well as receipts. The North American estimate is a gross figure, with actuals still outstanding. Neither establishes how the films rank against one another worldwide.
| Market | Leading title | Local measure and gross | Window | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US and Canada | Godzilla Minus Zero | $31.6m gross | 6–8 November | Studio estimate | Variety |
| South Korea | Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of the Mermaid Island | 149,050 admissions; KRW1.51bn ($1.11m) gross | 6–8 November | Provisional actuals | KOBIS |
Our North American opening report sets out the US and Canadian chart in full. The Korean figures below come directly from the national table, rather than a dollar-denominated account of that market.
Korea: a ticket lead on fewer screenings
Chiikawa (극장판 치이카와: 인어 섬의 비밀) finished ahead of Final Interview (최종면접), which sold 104,476 tickets and grossed KRW1.07bn ($790,000). The latter opened on 4 November; the Japanese animation has been playing in Korea since 30 September, according to KOBIS. Their cumulative admissions therefore cover very different release periods: 2,788,843 for Chiikawa and 166,796 for Final Interview.
The weekend lead was achieved with fewer screenings. KOBIS records 8,384 for Chiikawa and 9,350 for Final Interview. Dividing admissions by screenings gives 17.8 and 11.2 respectively, rounded to one decimal place. These are FilmBunch calculations of tickets per screening, not occupancy rates: the table does not supply the available seats required for that comparison.
The screen counts were closer, at 977 and 957. KOBIS defines its period screen count as the highest daily count during the selected dates, rather than the sum across days. It cannot be read as a count of cinemas or added across titles to measure the country’s physical exhibition capacity.
Heart of the Beast (하트 오브 비스트) placed third with 90,679 admissions and KRW910m ($670,000) over the weekend, on 851 screens. Its cumulative audience reached 379,763 following its 28 October opening. The Cat in the Hat (모자 쓴 고양이) was fifth on admissions, with 29,259 tickets and KRW273m ($201,000), after opening on 6 November. Those positions are KOBIS admissions ranks, not an order imposed by the converted grosses.
What the worldwide box-office comparison excludes
Italy’s Cinetel page had figures through 7 November, including a current-week table running from 2–7 November. Those are not a completed Thursday-to-Sunday weekend. Japan’s Kogyo Tsushin weekend page still displayed 30 October–1 November, as did the latest report on the BFI’s UK box-office page. None is included in the comparison above. India is also excluded pending a verified local-currency weekend package with a settled reporting window.
Won conversions use the ECB reference rates for Friday 6 November, the last fixing available for the weekend ending 8 November: €1 = KRW1,517.02 and $1.1165, equivalent to approximately KRW1,358.73 per dollar. Each conversion was calculated by FilmBunch from KOBIS’s unrounded won figure. The Korea coverage page and Box Office section carry the desk’s other market reports.
Our reading
The Korean comparison establishes a narrow but useful distinction for exhibitors: Chiikawa sold more tickets despite having fewer screenings than Final Interview. The disclosed screening counts make that a firmer comparison than the two cumulative audiences, which belong to films at different points in their runs. Without seating capacity, however, the figures cannot establish which release filled a larger proportion of its available seats.
For distributors comparing markets, the present limit is coverage rather than a missing dollar conversion. The North American opening remains an estimate, and the Korean table remains open to correction. Adding incomplete Italian figures or the previous Japanese weekend would create a broader-looking page without a common reporting period. Monday’s North American actuals and the next published national weekend tables will allow that comparison to expand.
Sources
- KOBIS, 6–8 November weekend table (provisional actuals)
- KOBIS methodology and revision policy
- Variety, Sunday studio estimates, 8 November
- European Central Bank, KRW reference rates
- European Central Bank, USD reference rates
- Variety, prior Korea weekend, 1 November
- Cinetel, displayed daily and current-week tables
- Kogyo Tsushin, displayed weekend dated 30 October–1 November
- BFI, latest displayed weekend report