A South Korean animated film depicting the life of Jesus registered a box office success, particularly in North America, where it swiftly rose to prominence. Directed by Jang Seong-ho, the film portrays the life of Jesus from his birth to resurrection, drawing inspiration from Charles Dickens' "The Life of Our Lord."
In eight days after its release, "The King of Kings" earned $34.69 million in North America, coinciding with the Easter holiday. It garnered $21 million in its first four days.
In its second week, "The King of Kings" expanded its theater presence, growing from 3,200 theaters in its opening week to 3,535 theaters. It earned around $6.63 million from these theaters, reflecting its growing popularity among audiences. Despite the debut of Warner Bros. Pictures' "Sinners," which pushed "The King of Kings" to third place at the box office, the film's ticket sales remained relatively strong. According to Segye, many of the other top 10 films experienced declines of 20 to 80 percent this week, whereas "The King of Kings" saw only a 12% decrease compared to the previous weekend.
"Timing the release for the Easter holiday is perfect timing," stated Variety, praising the strategic timing of the film's release. The publication also evaluated the film, noting that "'The King of Kings' is eliciting alchemical emotional resonance among its target audience." American media predicted that the film would continue its strong performance over the Easter weekend.
"The King of Kings" received an "A+" from CinemaScore on its first day of release, a rating that is often directly linked to box office success. Local audience ratings were overwhelmingly positive, with a popcorn score of 98% on Rotten Tomatoes. This surpasses the ratings of notable South Korean films such as Bong Joon-ho's "Parasite" (95%) and the popular series "Squid Game" (89%). According to the Korea Economic Daily, the film is expected to surpass the North American ticket revenue of "Parasite," which earned $53.84 million.
Angel Studios, a distributor focused on Christian and family films, is handling the North American distribution of "The King of Kings." All local distribution, dubbing, planning, investment, and production were conducted in South Korea. The domestic VFX company MOFAC, led by director Jang, produced the film. Cinematographer Kim Woo-hyung, known for his work on films like "Assassination" and "1987," was in charge of cinematography and co-production, according to Segye.
The project took ten years to complete, with Jang personally directing and producing the film since 2015. While his name may not be widely known in the mainstream film world, "in the realm of visual effects, he has built a respectable reputation over three decades," notes KpopChart.
The film's success comes despite the challenges faced by the South Korean animation market. Munhwa reports that the market is relatively small, making it difficult to raise production costs and receive investment. Despite this, "The King of Kings" entered the global market, even as domestic animation remains relatively unnoticed. It is being screened in 50 countries, including South America, Africa, Asia, and Europe, and is scheduled to be released in 90 countries by the end of the year, with a South Korean release planned for the end of July.
"A work that shows the potential of the Korean animation industry," commented The Hollywood Reporter on the film. Munhwa notes that while K-pop and K-movies, the leaders of K-content, are experiencing slowdowns and rumors of a crisis, K-animation is opening new doors.
"Animation allows for the use of various IPs (intellectual properties) such as characters," notes Munhwa, emphasizing the genre's potential for growth and profitability. They report that the profitability of animation is 2.5 times that of live-action films. Furthermore, "Animation has a stronger fandom than any other genre," which bodes well for its continued success.
"It is surprising that a South Korean animated film is succeeding in the United States, a country known for Disney and Pixar, and also a Protestant nation, with a story about Jesus," expresses Munhwa, noting the unexpected nature of the film's success.
As K-animation makes strides on the global stage, the inclusion of director Jeong Yu-mi's short animation "Glasses" in the Critics' Week at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival further underscores the recognition of South Korean animation. Munhwa reports that while no South Korean live-action film has been invited to Cannes since 1999, the animation sector is gaining international attention.
The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.