A still from the film "Hope" [Plus M Entertainment, Forged Films]
A still from the film "Hope" [Plus M Entertainment, Forged Films]

Director Na Hong-jin's new film "Hope" surpassed 2 million admissions on its fifth day in theaters — the fastest any film has reached that milestone this year.

According to distributor Plus M Entertainment and others, "Hope" crossed the 2 million mark at around 1 p.m. Sunday, its fifth day of release — beating "Gunchae," which hit the same milestone on the evening of its fifth day, to claim the fastest pace of the year.

The film had already signaled strong box-office potential before its opening, recording 600,000 advance ticket sales. It then crossed 1 million admissions within three days of release, confirming the high level of anticipation and audience interest surrounding it.

"Hope" is a sci-fi action thriller starring Hwang Jung-min, Jo In-sung and Jung Ho-yeon alongside Hollywood actors Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander and Taylor Russell. The story unfolds as news spreads of a tiger appearing in the demilitarized zone, throwing an entire village into chaos before an unbelievable reality comes to light.

The film marks Na's first feature in 10 years since "The Wailing" and had its world premiere in the main competition section of the 79th Cannes International Film Festival in May.

Since its opening, "Hope" has been riding a wave of support from across the film industry — including directors Lee Chang-dong, Bong Joon-ho and Jang Jae-hyun — as it pushes to set a new box-office record for a Korean film this year.

Lee, who joined Na for a post-screening audience Q&A, called it "a literally insane film" and said "'Hope' sits at the extreme end of entertainment cinema." Bong described it as "a truly astonishing roller coaster of exhilaration and runaway energy," while Jang said he was "overwhelmed by the visuals, sound and world-building — worth every penny of the ticket price."


balme@heraldcorp.com