'12.12: The Day' rakes in $1 mil. in ticket sales in North America

A scene from the Korean historical film "12.12: The Day" is displayed at a movie theater in Seoul, Dec. 24. Yonhap

The runaway hit drama "12.12: The Day" surpassed $1 million ticket sales in North American theaters, its local distributer Plus M Entertainment said Wednesday.

With the feat, it became the highest-grossing Korean film to open there this year, beating "The Roundup: No Way Out" with $910,000.

The 2022 film "The Roundup" was the immediate predecessor with more than $1 million ticket sales in the North American market.

Released on Nov. 22, "12.12: The Day" about Korea's military coup in 1979 topped 10 million admissions on Sunday, the second film ever to reach the milestone this year.

Initially opened in three theaters in Los Angeles late last month, it is now shown in some 50 cinemas in the region.

The distributor said it has been receiving a flurry of requests from local theaters about opening the film in areas even with not many Korean residents.

The fictionalized historical film continued to draw moviegoers in its home country.

It ranked No. 2 in the country's daily box office with 128,000 admissions Tuesday, closely trailing Korean naval war film "Noryang: Deadly Sea," seen by 136,000 people. "Noryang" depicts the last sea battle of Korea's legendary admiral Yi Sun-sin and his death. (Yonhap)