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| ▲ This photo, provided by ShowBox Studio, shows a scene from 'Suzume.' (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ This file photo shows director Makoto Shinkai at the press conference of 'Suzume.' (Yonhap) |
SEOUL, Mar. 27 (Yonhap) -- Japanese animated blockbuster “Suzume” is continuing its hot streak by hitting 3 million admissions.
Makoto Shinkai’s “Suzume” surpassed 3 million cumulative admissions as of 4:30 p.m. Monday, according to data released by the Korea Film Council on the same day. The animated film marked the second film of the year to have gathered 3 million moviegoers among those that hit the local theaters, following another Japanese mega-hit film “The First Slam Dunk.”
“Suzume” has been topping the box office chart since its release on Mar. 8 amid an array of new releases, including the Korean comedy film “Woong Nam” directed by the comedian-turned-filmmaker Park Sung-kwang, the legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg’s “The Fabelmans,” as well as the Korean actress Jeon Jong-seo’s Hollywood debut film “Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon.”
In particular, the animated fantasy adventure film has accumulated the largest weekend crowd among the films released this year. In fact, the film has been gathering more audiences every weekend. From a total of 694,000 admissions it had raked in on the first weekend, the hit Japanese animation gathered more than 712,000 moviegoers on the second weekend and a whopping 757,000 audiences on the third weekend.
The red-hot anime blockbuster, which has been reckoned the third part of an apocalyptic trilogy featured by director Shinkai along with “Your Name.” and “Weathering with You,” follows the story of the titular protagonist Suzume who discovers portal doors that bring disaster to the places they appear in. She and Souta, a young man who turned into a chair, try to close those doors.
Behind the success of “Suzume” are the eye-catching visual effects, an iconic feature of Shinkai’s works, as well as the emotional background music and the messages of comfort it sends for overcoming disasters.
Ahead of its release, the movie industry also assessed that its promotional strategies, including director Shinkai and voice actress Hara Nanoka’s visit to Korea, were also significantly effective. Makoto Shinkai mobilized some 3,802,000 moviegoers in Korea with his “Your Name.” earlier in 2017. Until “The First Slam Dunk” broke this record this year, the movie held the highest box office record among Japanese films released in Korea.
(This article is translated from Korean to English by Ha eun Lee)
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