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‘Veteran’ has solid opening at North American box offices

September 23, 2015
A poster of the South Korean film "Veteran" (Yonhap)

A poster of the South Korean film “Veteran” (Yonhap)

LOS ANGELES (Yonhap) — A Korean action film made a solid dent in North American box offices in its opening week boosted by its long-lasting popularity in South Korea and favorable reviews from American critics, according to the film’s local distributor.

“Veteran” made about US$360,620 over its first four days after being released last Thursday, according to CJ Entertainment America. The amount is larger than the $323,506 and the $290,995 collected by “Ode to My Father” and “Assassination,” respectively, in their first week of release. Both are Korean hit films that opened in the region earlier this year.

Drawing media attention is whether the new film by director Ryoo Seung-wan will outperform “Roaring Currents” and “Ode to My Father,” which were the sixth and ninth most-viewed foreign films in North America last year, respectively.

The new film’s ongoing commercial success in South Korea and favorable responses from American critics and moviegoers are viewed as factors behind the solid performance there.

In South Korea, the film starring Hwang Jung-min and Yoo Ah-in became the fifth most-viewed Korean film of all time, drawing 12.81 million viewers through Tuesday, according to its South Korean distributor, CJ Entertainment.

“Mr. Ryoo isn’t known for his sense of humor, but ‘Veteran’ is amusing throughout,” Mike Hale, a film reporter for The New York Times, wrote in his review of the movie. “He delivers a solid, consistently entertaining story punctuated by the balletic action sequences he’s known for.”

The film is about an honest detective who takes on the pampered, sociopathic heir to a family-owned conglomerate.