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The Fierce Competition Behind Yongsan’s Sold-Out Streak
Large multiplexes in Yongsan, Seoul, are currently capturing an extraordinary box office race. At CGV Yongsan—the only theater in the country capable of projecting Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey in its full 1.43:1 IMAX aspect ratio—every single screening has been sold out for weeks. The scramble for seats has driven resale tickets to several times their original price. Audiences are no longer just paying to watch a movie; they are driving up box office numbers to experience a highly specific aspect ratio and viewing environment.
Since CGV Yongsan is the only location in Korea where Odyssey‘s full 1.43:1 IMAX format can be experienced exactly as intended, the format you get depends entirely on where you watch the film. Naturally, audiences chasing this specific visual experience are flocking to a single location, creating a unique wave of sold-out shows concentrated heavily on premium formats rather than the usual battle for regular seats.
At the same time, Spider-Man: Brand New Day is racing toward the elusive 10-million-viewer mark. Sony Pictures’ Spider-Man premiered on July 29, followed closely by Universal Pictures’ Odyssey on August 5. Released just a week apart, these two Hollywood blockbusters are now running neck and neck as they approach the most iconic standard for box office success in Korea.
If both manage to cross the 10-million threshold, it will mark the first time in history that two foreign films join Korea’s prestigious “10 Million Club” simultaneously. Neither has officially crossed the finish line yet. Spider-Man has a head start in total admissions but is starting to slow down, while Odyssey is closing the gap from behind, fueled by a long theatrical run and relentless demand for premium screens.
A Narrowing Gap: 8.22 Million and 7.46 Million
According to daily data from the Korean Film Council’s (KOFIC) integrated box office network on August 25, Spider-Man: Brand New Day had secured exactly 8,215,569 admissions. Odyssey had drawn 7,460,315 viewers by the same day. Both titles still needed a substantial push to reach 10 million, but the milestone had finally entered the realm of reality.
Numbers naturally continued to climb. By August 27, Odyssey reached 7,806,294 viewers, maintaining its spot at the top of the box office for 23 consecutive days. Spider-Man recorded 8,297,959 viewers on the same day, shrinking the gap between the two to just over 490,000—specifically, 491,665. By August 28, Odyssey officially soared past the 8-million mark.
This race is no longer just about who has sold more tickets. Spider-Man needs to relentlessly chip away at its remaining distance to 10 million, while Odyssey must sustain its current reign at the box office over the long haul. Because they started at different times and are at different stages of their theatrical runs, the final outcome will depend heavily on the screen time they can secure and how well they can maintain their momentum.
Why 10 Million is a Magic Number in Korea
For those unfamiliar with the Korean film market, the “10 million viewers” benchmark might seem unusual. While Hollywood typically measures a movie’s success by its total box office revenue, Korea relies on admissions—the sheer number of tickets sold. How many people actually walked into a theater is the definitive metric for success, taking precedence over how much money was made.
This specific tracking culture is made possible by KOFIC’s integrated box office network. Every day, theaters across the country report their exact ticket sales to this centralized system. Instead of relying on distributor estimates or partial data from select theater chains, the industry gets a transparent, nationwide daily tally. This shared data allows the media and the public to discuss box office performance using the exact same numbers.
Because ticket sales are uniformly tracked every day, it’s easy to continuously monitor a film’s journey—from its opening day figures and weekend bumps to its long-term staying power. The reliability of this nationwide, consolidated data creates a deep sense of trust. Whether checking overall rankings or calculating exactly how many tickets a movie needs to hit 10 million, everyone looks at the same source.
Under this system, 10 million represents far more than just a sales figure. Once a film crosses this threshold, it earns the coveted title of a “10-million movie,” a label that instantly summarizes its monumental success. This deeply ingrained culture explains why the current buzz around Spider-Man and Odyssey focuses entirely on the countdown to 10 million admissions rather than their total gross revenue.
An Exclusive Club of 34 and the Foreign Film Barrier
To date, only 34 films have ever surpassed 10 million viewers in Korea. Of those, 25 are Korean, and only 9 are foreign. Even though the term “10-million movie” is thrown around frequently in Korean pop culture, the actual list of films that have achieved it remains remarkably small. Now, the industry is watching to see if two foreign films can squeeze into that exclusive roster at the exact same time.
There have been moments in the past where two massive blockbusters drew enormous crowds simultaneously. Back in 2003 and 2004, Silmido and Taegukgi: The Brotherhood of War became the first Korean films to hit the 10-million mark back-to-back. Their incredible runs proved that 10 million wasn’t just a once-in-a-lifetime fluke, but a repeatable milestone that could serve as a new standard for the industry.
The successive triumphs of those two films firmly established the admissions-based box office culture we see today. Since then, whenever a new movie approaches this magic number, it is celebrated not just as an individual victory, but as a reflection of the sheer scale and power of the Korean moviegoing public.
Summer 2015 saw another dual triumph when Assassination (12.7 million) and Veteran (13.4 million) both became colossal hits. In 2019, Aladdin (released May 23) and Parasite (released May 30) hit theaters a week apart and both eventually crossed the 10-million mark, with Parasite reaching 10.31 million. What makes the current showdown between Spider-Man and Odyssey so unprecedented is not the timing of their releases, but the fact that both contenders are Hollywood films.
Spider-Man’s Broken Records and Odyssey’s Relentless Pursuit
Regardless of whether it hits 10 million, Spider-Man has already shattered its franchise’s all-time Korean box office record. On August 23, it surpassed 8.02 million viewers, officially edging out Spider-Man: Far From Home (8,023,606 admissions) after having already easily bested the 7.55 million admissions of Spider-Man: No Way Home. The film is no longer chasing its own franchise history—it has already rewritten it.
However, breaking a franchise record does not guarantee an easy path to 10 million. Entering its fourth week, Spider-Man has seen its weekday numbers dip into the 50,000 range, while its available screens have dropped from over 1,300 to roughly 1,000. It has built a massive foundation of viewers, but navigating the late stages of a theatrical run means fighting an uphill battle against shrinking daily audiences and fewer screens. The real test is whether it can maintain a steady enough pace to close the remaining gap.
Odyssey is riding a very different wave. Despite launching a week later and trailing in total admissions, it held onto the number-one spot at the box office for 23 consecutive days as of August 27. Demand for IMAX seats continues to far outstrip supply. Furthermore, with no major releases scheduled until mid-September, Odyssey is perfectly positioned for a prolonged theatrical run, giving it a strong advantage in this long-distance pursuit.
A Historic Milestone Waiting on Both Finish Lines
While current numbers suggest both films are highly capable of reaching 10 million, the path forward is full of variables. Spider-Man must scrape together its final admissions after securing its franchise peak. Odyssey needs to figure out how to translate its explosive IMAX popularity and box office dominance into sustained interest at regular theaters. Whether their distinct advantages will actually result in 10 million tickets sold remains to be seen.
A single film crossing the 10-million mark is a monumental achievement in its own right. But for this summer to truly make history, both films need to cross the finish line. Only then will the highly exclusive nine-film list of foreign blockbusters welcome two new additions, delivering the first-ever scenario in Korean box office history where two Hollywood movies enter the 10 Million Club during the same season.
The sold-out frenzy in Yongsan, a 23-day streak at number one, and a brand new record for the Spider-Man franchise are all set in stone. The dream of a “Double Hollywood 10 Million” summer, however, is still being written. All attention is now on whether a slowing Spider-Man can cover its remaining distance, and whether Odyssey can spin its long-term momentum past the 8-million mark into a 10-million reality.
Sources: The Korea Herald (Aug 7 & Aug 21, 2026); Kookje Shinmun (Aug 17 & Aug 25, 2026); Chosun Biz (Aug 23, 2026); KOFIC Korean Box Office Information System (Aug 25, Aug 27 & Aug 28, 2026).
