Horror film 'Spiral' soars in local box office

The film “Spiral: From the Book of Saw” topped local box offices on Saturday. Courtesy of All Star Entertainment

By Lee Gyu-lee

The horror film “Spiral: From the Book of Saw” has topped local box offices for four consecutive days, after landing on the top of the chart on the day of its premiere, Wednesday.

The latest installment in the “Saw” franchise has accumulated over 64,700 ticket sales, grossing 640 million won ($566,500) as of Saturday. It opened with over 15,800 ticket sales, grossing 148 million won ($131,000).

Directed by Darren Lynn Bousman, who also directed four of the “Saw” series films, the crime thriller flick revolves around a detective named Zeke (Chris Rock), and his new rookie partner, William (Max Minghella). The two take charge of investigating a gruesome serial murder case that targets corrupt cops as victims.

As Zeke hunts down the killer, who is a copycat of Saw's iconic villain Jigsaw, he finds himself caught in the trap of the killer's gory game.

Thriller film “The Courier” took the second spot on the charts with a little over 16,500 tickets sold on Saturday.

Since opening at 146 million won on April 28, “The Courier” has sold a total of 268,407 tickets, grossing 2.47 billion won ($2.2 million).

A scene from “The Courier” / Courtesy of The Contents On

The film, based on a true story, follows British businessman Greville (Benedict Cumberbatch) who gets recruited on a mission to help resolve the Cuban Missile Crisis in the 1960s. As an MI6 and CIA joint operative, he is ordered to deliver messages to a Soviet officer, containing crucial information that will end the crisis.

Amid the mission, he comes to form a dangerous partnership with the Soviet officer in an effort to provide intelligence to prevent a nuclear confrontation.

The film is directed by Dominic Cooke, whose previous work includes “On Chesil Beach.”

The third place on Saturday's box office charts goes to the animated film “The Croods: A New Age,” with about 15,000 tickets sold.

The sequel to the 2013 animated film “The Croods,” it scored the highest amount of tickets on an opening this year, selling about 103,000 tickets on its May 5 premiere day, grossing 913 million won ($810,431).

Directed by Joel Crawford, who made his feature directorial debut with this film, “The Croods: A New Age” follows caveman patriarch Grug (voiced by Nicolas Cage) and his family's journey in the world outside the cave. The family, joined by outsider Guy (Ryan Reynolds) from the previous film, finds a paradise that is already occupied by a more advanced-thinking family called the Bettermans.