Supernatural thriller 'Exhuma' captivates Asian countries

SEOUL, March 19 (Yonhap) -- "Exhuma," the Korean supernatural flick that is soon expected to be the first film to sell 10 million tickets in South Korea this year, is also making waves in other Asian countries, its local distributor said Tuesday.

According to Showbox, the movie grossed US$660,000 (about 900 million won) on its opening day in Vietnam on Friday, setting the biggest opening score for a Korean film released in the country.

The occult thriller also grossed $3.02 million in its debut weekend, surpassing the record of "6/45" (2022) for a Korean film with the highest-grossing weekend in Vietnam.

In Indonesia, "Exhuma" sold 1.8 million tickets just 20 days after its release on Feb. 28. As theaters have gradually expanded its release scale, the film recently surpassed the American animated franchise flick "Kung Fu Panda 4" in the total number of screens allocated.

The Korean movie raked in 28.84 million Taiwan dollars in a week after its release on March 8 in Taiwan.

Exported to 133 countries worldwide, "Exhuma" opened in such countries as Indonesia, Taiwan and Mongolia last month and is opening in Vietnam, the United States, Canada, Britain and Australia this month.

Directed by Jang Jae-hyun and starring Choi Min-sik, Kim Go-eun, Yoo Hae-jin and Lee Do-hyun, the movie revolves around two shamans, a feng shui expert and a mortician who join forces to investigate a string of mysterious occurrences affecting a wealthy family based in the U.S. They embark on this journey by exhuming the grave of the family's ancestor in a remote Korean village.

The flick has attracted 9.38 million moviegoers in South Korea and is expected to surpass 10 million this weekend.

sshim@yna.co.kr
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