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'Once We Were Us' tops weekend box office for 3rd week

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By Yonhap
  • Published Jan 26, 2026 8:17 am KST
 A scene from the film “Once We Were Us” / Courtesy of Showbox

A scene from the film “Once We Were Us” / Courtesy of Showbox

The romance drama "Once We Were Us" remained atop the weekend box-office chart, data from the Korean Film Council showed Monday.

The film, released Dec. 31, attracted 254,298 moviegoers from Friday to Sunday, surpassing the 2 million mark in cumulative audience and bringing box-office revenue to 19.5 billion won ($13.3 million).

Starring Koo Kyo-hwan and Moon Ga-young, "Once We Were Us" is a Korean remake of the 2018 Chinese hit film "Us and Them," which stars Jing Boran and Zhou Dongyu.

The film, directed by Kim Do-young, who garnered acclaim for her feature debut, "Kim Ji-young, Born 1982," follows a young couple, Eun-ho (Koo) and Jung-won (Moon), as they reflect on their relationship and missed chances in their 20s.

It became the first Korean romance title to draw more than 2 million admissions since the 2019 hit "Crazy Romance."

The runner-up was "Choir of God," a film about North Korea, facing international sanctions, seeking $200 million in aid by creating its first fake praise troupe.

Also released Dec. 31, the film drew 155,282 viewers over the weekend, pushing its cumulative audience to 683,431.