The Korean movie "The Battleship Island" has earned US$400,000 at the US weekend box office.
Starring So Ji-sub, Song Joong-ki and Hwang Jung-min, the film was released in the US on August 3. It tells the story of Koreans who were forced to work on Hashima Island in Japan during World War II.
Quoting distributor CJ E&M, Yonhap News reported that "The Battleship Island" beat past Korean movies which were screened in the US.
With the $400,000 in revenues, "The Battleship Island" edged out the first-weekend ticket sales of Korean movies such as "Ode to My Father," which earned $320,000; "Assassination," $280,000 and "Train to Busan," $270,000.
It is being screened in 42 in North America such as New York, Washington, Toronto and Vancouver, the report added.
At home, "The Battleship Island" has earned $42.3 million with total admission of 6.3 million since July 26, according to the Korean Film Council (KOFIC).
It finished third on the daily box office for Aug. 9 with $302,238 behind "A Taxi Driver" and the comedy "Midnight Runners."
But behind the movie's success is the accusation of monopoly of film screens. "The Battleship Island" was the first project to be shown on 2,000 screens.
As a result, its director and producer have resigned as members of several guilds in South Korea.
According to Yonhap News, director Ryoo Seung-wan and Kang Hye-jung, head of production company Filmmaker R&K, left the Directors Guild of Korea, Korean Film Producers Association and Women In Film Korea.
Kang said she left the associations because of the monopoly issue.
"I bolted as I was concerned that 'The Battleship Island' could be troubling when each organization is issuing official statements on the screen monopoly issue," she said. "As a person working in this business for over 20 years, I know that it is a pressing matter to debate and organize a system (that addresses the problem)."
