'Hope' ranks number one at the box office for 8 consecutive days... surpasses 2.53 million cumulative viewers

The movie ″Hope″ (directed by Na Hong-jin) has ranked first at the box office for eight consecutive days, surpassing a cumulative audience of 2.53 million. According to the Korea Film Council’s integrated computer network, ″Hope″ attracted 131,833 viewers on July 22 alone, bringing its total audience to 2,533,448. It achieved the highest opening score among Na Hong-jin’s works by drawing 330,000 viewers on its opening day, surpassed 1 million viewers within three days, and 2 million within five days, setting the fastest box office record this year. ″Hope″ depicts the story of Beom-seok, the head of the Hope Port branch in the Demilitarized Zone, who hears reports of a tiger sighting from local youths. As the entire village goes on high alert, they face an unbelievable reality. The film stars Hwang Jung-min, Jo In-sung, and Jung Ho-yeon. Audience reactions were mixed. Some viewers commented, ″It felt fresh and different from Na Hong-jin’s previous works,″ and ″The visuals and action sequences were impressive,″ while others criticized, saying, ″The CG was poor,″ and ″There were so many curse words that it disrupted immersion.″ Meanwhile, as of 8:30 a.m. on July 23, real-time reservation rates showed ″Spider-Man: Brand New Day″ (directed by Destin Cretton) in first place with 356,744 reserved tickets, ″Hope″ in second with 179,782, and ″Oppenheimer″ (directed by Christopher Nolan) in third with 84,793. ″Minions & Monsters″ (directed by Pierre Coffin) recorded 18,078 daily viewers and a cumulative 428,426, ranking second, while ″Moana″ (directed by Thomas Kail) had 13,159 daily viewers and a cumulative 808,976, ranking third.