Table of Contents
A new leader on opening day
“The Intern,” starring Choi Min-sik and Han So-hee, drew 61,038 moviegoers on its opening day to debut atop the South Korean box office. According to data released on September 17 by the Korean Film Council’s box office information system (KOBIS), the film opened at number one on September 16, pushing Christopher Nolan’s “Odyssey” into second place with 41,322 admissions that day.
The result ended an uninterrupted 42-day run at the top for “Odyssey” since its August 5 premiere. It also marked the first time a Korean film had led the daily box office since Na Hong-jin’s “Hope,” 50 days earlier. The gap between the two films on opening day was 19,716 admissions.
‘Odyssey’ cools off after passing 10 million
“Odyssey” was shot entirely on IMAX film cameras, a format built for large screens and specialized sound that helped keep audiences coming back for weeks. The film became the second of the year to pass 10 million admissions in Korea, after “The Man Who Lives with the King.” By September 16, its cumulative total stood at about 10.92 million, just short of 11 million.
Even with that record, its daily numbers had hit three straight post-release lows before “The Intern” opened. “The Intern” took the top spot on the strength of opening-day turnout and early word of mouth, while “Odyssey” simply showed the usual signs of a long run losing steam. A daily count reflects one day; a cumulative total reflects the whole run, and neither cancels the other out.
A Hollywood story retold in a Korean office
Directed by Kim Do-young, “The Intern” reworks the 2015 Hollywood comedy starring Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway for a Korean workplace. Kim, who previously directed “Kim Ji-young, Born 1982” and “If We Were Us,” keeps the original’s premise but grounds the relationships in settings Korean audiences recognize.
The story is set at “Ootootoo,” a fashion startup that reached 10 billion won in annual sales three years after launch. Han So-hee plays its young CEO, Seon-woo; Choi Min-sik plays Gi-ho, a 37-year corporate veteran who joins as a “senior intern” for a second act after retirement. Putting these two generations in the same office gives the film its central, cross-generational dynamic.
The film scored a 95 percent Golden Egg Index at CGV and a 9.0 rating at Lotte Cinema. Viewers pointed to the chemistry between Choi and Han, and some said the film reminded them of their own parents and that they planned to watch it again with family over Chuseok. The film is distributed by Warner Bros. Korea, which returns to investing in Korean features with this release, after “Josee.”
Daily numbers versus advance sales
A strong opening day is not the whole picture. As of the morning of September 17, “Odyssey” still led ticket pre-sales with a 22.4 percent share. Hur Jin-ho’s upcoming historical drama “The Assassin(s),” due September 23 and starring Yoo Hae-jin, Park Hae-il and Lee Min-ho, took second place in pre-sales at 17.7 to 17.8 percent. “The Intern” was third at 13.0 percent. “The Assassin(s)” is based on the 1974 assassination attempt on First Lady Yuk Young-soo.
Daily box office numbers count people already in theater seats that day; pre-sale figures count tickets already booked for showings still to come. “The Intern” won the day on September 16, but “Odyssey” still had the edge in advance bookings, with “The Assassin(s)” also drawing early interest. Whether “The Intern” can hold its lead through the weekend and into the Chuseok holiday will decide how far this opening carries.
Sources: Korean Film Council KOBIS, Yonhap News Agency, Kyunghyang Shinmun, The Korea Economic Daily, September 17, 2026.
