The First Ride speeds past competition at the box office, K-pop Demon Hunters Sing-Along lands in top 5

This weekend, South Korea's box office experienced an exciting twist as the K-pop Demon Hunters: A Sing-Along event premiered in theatres, but it was the comedic road-trip film The First Ride that claimed the number one position. Data from KOBIS indicates that The First Ride premiered in the top spot with 1.56 million USD generated from 230,810 ticket sales, securing a 28.8 percent market share. Directed by Nam Dae-joong, recognised for The Great Battle, the movie revolves around a group of childhood friends whose seemingly relaxing vacation in Thailand takes an unexpected twist. With its midweek previews included, the comedy has earned 2.3 million USD so far.

At the same time, the recently launched K-pop Demon Hunters: A Sing-Along Event attracted numerous music and animation enthusiasts, generating excitement for its interactive screenings that merge K-pop rhythms with fantasy adventure. The film's distinctive format brought a fun element to Korea's weekend box office lineup.

Japanese titles remained resilient. Chainsaw Man The Movie: Reze Arc fell to the second position, generating 1.08 million USD and raising its total earnings to 20.7 million USD. Helmed by Tatsuya Yoshihara, the film transforms the beloved 'Reze' narrative from Tatsuki Fujimoto's manga.

In third place, the Japanese psychological horror film The Exit 8 grossed 602,000 USD, raising its total to 2.2 million USD. Directed by Kawamura Genki, it centers on a man ensnared in a haunting, repetitive subway passage where even the tiniest detail could result in liberation or disaster. In other news, the re-release of Coraline captivated viewers once more, earning 284,000 USD for a total of 2 million USD, while Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba The Movie: Infinity Castle maintained its solid performance, gaining 216,000 USD to total 42.1 million USD. Park Chan-wook's No Other Choice continued its strong performance, grossing 147,000 USD this weekend to reach a total of 20 million USD.

Completing the top ten were the re-releases of anime classics Evangelion: Death (True) and Rebirth and Jujutsu Kaisen: Hidden Inventory / Premature Death The Movie, which took in 108,000 USD and 98,600 USD, respectively.

The total weekend revenue for Korea's leading ten films reached 4.5 million USD, just slightly under last week's 4.7 million USD.