Baek Byung-yeul is a journalist at The Korea Times focused on cultural content, including films and cultural events in South Korea. You can contact him at baekby@koreatimes.co.kr to share your insights.
Will 'My Daughter Is a Zombie' be 2025’s 1st 10 mil. admissions hit?
From left, actors Lee Jung-eun, Jo Jung-suk, Cho Yeo-jeong, Choi Yu-ri and Yoon Kyung-ho and director Pil Gam-seong celebrate their movie, “My Daughter Is a Zombie,” surpassing 1 million admissions during an event on Saturday. Courtesy of NEW
By Baek Byung-yeul
“My Daughter Is a Zombie,” a zombie-themed family film, is generating significant buzz as it races towards a potential 10 million admissions milestone that could make it the first movie of the year to achieve the feat.
Released on July 30, the film, starring A-list star Jo Jung-suk as a devoted father whose daughter (Choi Yu-ri) turns into a zombie, has already drawn an impressive 1.45 million viewers in its first four days.
According to the Korea Film Council (KOFIC), Sunday, the film attracted 478,519 fans on Saturday alone and maintained its number one spot for the fourth consecutive day.
This rapid pace puts the film on par with the 2023 hit “12.12: The Day,” which eventually garnered over 13 million admissions. Distributor NEW highlighted that “My Daughter is a Zombie” achieved 1 million admissions in the shortest time among all films released this year, and its opening day figures were the highest of any Korean comedy film.
The film has continued to perform well, crossing its break-even point on Tuesday, when it surpassed 2.2 million admissions. It has consistently held the number one spot at the box office for seven consecutive days, while also maintaining the highest seat occupancy and reservation rates among new releases.
The film’s strong audience reception can also be seen in the CGV Golden Egg index, which measures audience satisfaction. Operated by Korea’s largest multiplex cinema chain CGV, this index is not an official rating but serves as a useful barometer for audience responses to a film. A score closer to 100 percent indicates the movie has been well-received by actual viewers, and this film is currently at 92 percent.
Moreover, the upcoming long weekend, which includes the Aug. 15 Liberation Day holiday, could further fuel box office success, especially because the film’s family-friendly rating of 12 and over makes it accessible to a wide audience.
Data from CGV on Sunday also showed that people in their 40s accounted for the highest share of “My Daughter is a Zombie” ticket reservations at 33 percent, followed by those in their 20s at 23 percent and 30s at 22 percent, showing that the movie is appealing to various age groups.
As of 11 a.m. Sunday, the real-time reservation rate for “My Daughter is a Zombie” stood at a commanding 28.7 percent, significantly outstripping the 13.1 percent for the Japanese animated feature “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Infinity Castle” and 12.3 percent for the Hollywood film “F1: The Movie.”
Actor Jo Jung-suk in a scene from “My Daughter Is a Zombie” / Courtesy of NEW
Achieving 10 million admissions is widely considered the benchmark for major success at the Korean box office. This milestone was first reached in 2003 by “Silmido.” Since then, a total of 33 films have surpassed the mark, and 24 of them were Korean productions.
The success of the film comes at a crucial time for the Korean film industry, which experienced a significant downturn in the first half of 2025.
In 2020 and 2021, no films managed to break the 10 million mark due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the market has shown some signs of recovery, the box office slump has continued, with only two films each year reaching the milestone from 2022 to last year.
The situation has worsened this year. According to a recent report by KOFIC, the total number of moviegoers between January and June plummeted by 32.5 percent compared to the same period last year. The top-performing Korean film in the first half was “Yadang: The Snitch” with 3.38 million admissions.
In an effort to revitalize the struggling cinema landscape, the government distributed 4.5 million discount vouchers, offering a 6,000 won ($4.32) reduction on movie tickets. This initiative is already showing signs of boosting theater attendance and is expected to provide further tailwinds for “My Daughter is a Zombie.”
The film marks Jo’s return to the summer big screen, following earlier successes with “Exit” (2019) and “Pilot” (2024). Director Pil Gam-seong, who expressed his longtime admiration for the actor, said he crafted the screenplay with Jo in mind.