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| A scene from "Ode to My Father." The film depicts the life of a man who sacrifices his dreams to support his family. / Yonhap |
By Kim Bo-eun
Director Youn Je-Kyoun's "Ode to My Father" is the first film to hit 10 million ticket sales this year.
The Korea Film Council said Wednesday the film had accumulated sales of 10,000,677 tickets after 154,606 people saw it at 848 theaters across the country on Tuesday. The film was released on Dec. 17.
"Ode to my Father" is the 14th movie to reach 10 million, and the 11th among domestic films.
It has been number one at the box office since the day after it was released. The state-run council attributes the success to the large middle-aged and elderly audience.
The film depicts the life of a man who sacrifices his dreams to support his family in the 1950s up to the present.
On New Year's Day, a record-setting 751,253 people watched the film, exceeding the 672,682 who last year saw "The Attorney," another box office hit that drew more than 10 million viewers.
Youn also became the first director with two films to top 10 million. "Haeundae," a disaster film released in 2009, attracted 11.45 million viewers the same year.
One critic caused controversy by calling Youn's latest film a "conservative" movie that "glorifies the sacrifices of the older generation." The controversy, however, may well have attracted more viewers.
The domestic films that topped 10 million in ticket sales are, in order of sales: "Roaring Currents" (17.6 million); "The Host" (13.01 million); "The Thieves" (12.98 million); "Miracle in Cell No.7" (12.81 million); "Masquerade" (12.31 million); "King and the Clown" (12.3 million); "TaeGukGi: Brotherhood of War" (11.74 million); "Haeundae (11.45 million); "The Attorney" (11.37 million) and "Silmido" (11.08 million).
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