'Judy' tops weekend box office amid virus-caused slump

The film “Judy” has sold over 41,000 tickets as of Monday. Courtesy of First Run

By Lee Gyu-lee

Biographical film “Judy” landed at the top of the weekend local box office, recording 41,000 ticket sales since its release on March 25.

The drama, starring Renee Zellweger, opened in third spot with 8,300 tickets sold, but soon started rising.

The film, directed by Rupert Goold, has been acclaimed for its compelling story of “The Wizard of Oz” actress Judy Garland and Zellweger's convincing portrayal of her. Zellweger has won several awards for her role including an Oscar for best actress.

“Judy” was one of few Hollywood films that premiered in Korea this month, as many distributors were reluctant to release their movies due to the coronavirus. This curbed box office competition for the film, with the war movie “1917” following in second.

However, despite the film's performance at the local box office, ticket sales remain devastatingly low amid the coronavirus spread.

The weekend sales have continued to decrease and this weekend's hit the lowest of this month at around 117,000 tickets, which is about half that of the first weekend in March.

As the coronavirus' effect on cinemas grows, movie theater chains have been moving to face the crisis.

Multiplex chain Megabox reduced theaters' maximum capacity by 50 percent to keep a safe distance between customers. Lotte Cinema also implemented "healthy distancing" to ensure two empty seats between groups.

CJ CGV has shut down 35 theaters temporarily since Saturday and has cut hours at several including CGV Yongsan and Wangsimni.