Korea Box Office: ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ Ignites Market

James Cameron’s long-awaited “Avatar: Fire and Ash” made a dominant entry at the Korean box office, opening to $10.2 million from 1.3 million admissions over the Dec. 19–21 frame.

According to KOBIS, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council, the film accounted for nearly two-thirds of total weekend revenue, playing across 2,514 screens and rapidly scaling to a $13.6 million cumulative haul in just five days.

Disney’s “Zootopia 2” moved to second but remained a formidable holdover, adding $4 million to push its Korean total to $41.2 million after four weekends in release. The animated sequel drew more than 620,000 admissions and continued to dominate family audiences despite the arrival of Cameron’s tentpole.

Local animated title “Pororo the Movie: Sweet Castle Adventure” placed third with $250,668, bringing its total to $805,395.

South Korean comedy-drama “The People Upstairs” followed closely in fourth with $262,926 for a cumulative $3.2 million. Directed by Ha Jung-woo and starring Gong Hyo-jin, Kim Dong-wook, Lee Ha-nee and Ha Jung-woo himself, the film follows a downstairs couple driven to exhaustion by constant noise from their upstairs neighbours. A tense dinner meant to resolve the issue quickly unravels into an evening of sharp confessions and shifting dynamics.

Japanese anime feature “Jujutsu Kaisen: Shibuya Incident / Culling Game – The Movie” ranked fifth, grossing $129,992 and lifting its total to $2.3 million. Directed by Shōta Goshozono, the film condenses the anime’s Shibuya Incident arc as Yuji Itadori and his allies face a coordinated curse attack on Halloween. The aftermath sets up the looming Culling Game and Yuta Okkotsu’s mission that puts Yuji’s fate in jeopardy.

Universal’s horror sequel “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” came in sixth with $126,015, elevating its cumulative take to $1.4 million.

Preview screenings of “Crayon Shinchan the Movie: Super Hot! The Spicy Kasukabe Dancers” entered the chart in seventh with $75,097 ahead of its Dec. 24 release. Musical sequel “Wicked: For Good” continued to taper in eighth with $49,252, reaching $6.5 million overall.

Japanese filmmaker Miyake Sho’s Locarno Golden Leopard winner “Two Seasons, Two Strangers” added $45,916 for a $238,103 total. Drawing from Tsuge Yoshiharu’s 1967 and 1968 short stories, the film follows a screenwriter named Lee (played by Korean actor Shim Eun-kyung) as she embarks on contrasting seasonal journeys — a summer encounter at a seaside town and a winter retreat to a remote mountain lodge.

Oscar shortlisted Japanese period drama “Kokuho” rounded out the top ten with $31,713, pushing its cumulative gross to $1.1 million.

The top ten films collectively grossed $15.2 million over the Dec. 19–21 weekend, up from last weekend’s $9.5 million.