'Colony' sweeps box office charts across Asia

An electronic board shows screening schedule for zombie thriller "Colony" at a cinema in Seoul, June 6. Yonhap

Director Yeon Sang-ho's zombie thriller "Colony" has swept the box-office chart in countries across Asia, becoming one of most-watched Korean films in some countries, the film's distributor said Tuesday.

The Korean film had attracted 1,511,802 admissions in Malaysia as of Sunday, becoming the most-watched Korean film in the local box-office chart to date, according to Showbox.

Yeon's previous zombie thrillers "Train to Busan" (2016) ranked second, followed by "Peninsula" (2020) at No. 3, it added.

In Indonesia, "Colony" attracted 1,062,394 cumulative admissions, becoming the second most-watched Korean film in the country, while the film garnered 347,438 admissions in the Philippines to also become the second-most watched Korean film in the country.

The film ranked among the top five most-watched Korean films ever released in Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.

"Colony" is the latest zombie thriller from director Yeon. It follows biotechnology professor Se-jeong (Jun Ji-hyun) and a group of survivors who fight to escape a building locked down by a virus outbreak.

The blockbuster also stars Koo Kyo-hwan as a lone wolf researcher who controls zombies and Ji Chang-wook and Kim Shin-rok as survivors battling the zombies, alongside Jun.

On its home ground, "Colony" has logged more than 5 million admissions, becoming the second film released this year to accomplish the milestone, following the Korean history drama "The King's Warden."