Mystery thriller 'Recalled' rises to top of local box offices

The mystery thriller film, “Recalled,” premiered on Wednesday. Courtesy of iFilm Corporation, CJ CGV

By Lee Gyu-lee

The thriller film, “Recalled,” starring Seo Yea-ji and Kim Kang-woo, is soaring at local box offices after reaching the top on the day it premiered, Wednesday.

The film generated over 15,000 ticket sales on Thursday, grossing a total of 268 million won ($240,000) in just two days. On opening day alone, 18,200 tickets were sold, garnering 136 million won ($122,000) in sales.

Helmed by Seo Yoo-min, the screenwriter behind the melodrama films, "April Snow" (2005) and "Happiness" (2007), “Recalled” follows Su-jin (Seo), who is married to her caring husband, Ji-hoon (Kim). She gained the ability to see other people's futures after losing her memory in a traumatic event.

Amidst the post-traumatic suffering and confusion, Su-jin suspects that Ji-hoon is hiding something from her and displays odd behavior. Her suspicion reaches its peak when surveillance footage in a murder investigation places Ji-hoon at the scene of the crime.

While screenwriter Seo's directorial debut film has gotten off to a good start, the sci-fi blockbuster “Seobok” slipped to second place in the box office charts.

“Seobok,” which premiered on April 15, generated about 12,000 ticket sales on Thursday, adding to a total gross of 2.56 billion won ($2.23 million).

Directed by Lee Yong-joo, the sci-fi action film revolves around an ex-intelligence agent, Ki-heon (Gong Yoo), and the first-ever human clone, Seobok (Park Bo-gum). When Ki-heon takes on the mission to bring Seobok to a place safe away from threats to take possession of him, the two form an unusual friendship.

“Seobok,” which postponed its premiere last December due to the COVID-19 pandemic, debuted on the streaming service TVING, run by its distributor CJ ENM.