'Mulan' drops at Korean box office shortly after opening on top

By Lee Gyu-lee

Disney's new blockbuster “Mulan” fell to second place at the Korean box office Saturday, just two days after it hit the theaters, while Christopher Nolan's latest film “Tenet” snatched back the top spot.

The live-action remake of the 1998 animation of the same name sold about 51,000 tickets that day, earning more than 515 million won ($443,000).

A total of 109,000 tickets have been sold, grossing more than 965 million won.

The film landed on top of the box office on its opening day with about 31,000 ticket sales, almost double those of “Tenet,” which had topped the chart for three consecutive weeks.

However, “Tenet” caught up with sales the next day and eventually regained top spot with about 54,000 tickets. The action-thriller saw grossed about 10 billion won ($11.8 million) from about 1.5 million tickets sold.

“Mulan,” a $200 million-budget blockbuster, has been at the center of controversies with issues involving the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong and the treatment of Uighur Muslims in northwestern China.

The film has faced a boycott after Chinese lead actress Liu Yifei publically voiced support for Hong Kong's police crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators.

The movement went viral online and continued even after its release with people promoting hashtags like “#BoycottMulan” and “#BanMulan.”

The film hit another backlash after it was revealed to be partly filmed in the Xinjiang area, where ethnic Uighurs and other Muslims have been detained and subject to abuse by the Chinese government.

With local films starring A-listers set to hit the theaters in few days ― Shin Min-a's “Diva,” Jang Hyuk's “Swordsman,” and Ha Ji-won's “Pawn” ― “Mulan” will face more fierce competition in the coming weeks.