South Korea's zombie flick #Alive may just be the first successful box office opening since the coronavirus pandemic crashed the global film industry - with movie theatres shutting down and blockbusters delaying their release.
The film surpassed one million ticket sales in just five days since it was released on June 24 in South Korea.
According to Yonhap news agency, the movie also posted the highest weekend box office total in five months since the pandemic seized the country.
South Korea's first case of Covid-19 was confirmed in January and infections peaked in February. The country's situation is under better control now, despite it battling a second wave of infections.
#Alive is a fitting, if morbid, movie for the times.
Starring actor Yoo Ah-in (Burning, 2018) and actress Park Shin-hye (Memories Of The Alhambra, 2018), both popular in the region, it tells the story of two survivors fending for themselves in a city under lockdown after its citizens were infected by a mysterious virus.
According to a press release by Spackman Entertainment, whose subsidiary Zip Cinema produced the film, #Alive earned a gross box office revenue of US$7.4 million (S$10.3 million) and accounted for over 70 per cent of South Korea's box office revenue as of June 28.
