Sci-fi epic ‘Interstellar’ exceeds 7 million ticket sales in S. Korea

November 25, 2014
From the right, director Christopher Nolan and actors Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway of the American sci-fi film "Interstellar" pose for photographers during a news conference held at a Shanghai hotel on Nov. 10, 2014, to promote the film. (Yonhap)

From the right, director Christopher Nolan and actors Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway of the American sci-fi film “Interstellar” pose for photographers during a news conference held at a Shanghai hotel on Nov. 10, 2014, to promote the film. (Yonhap)

SEOUL (Yonhap) — The Hollywood film “Interstellar” has attracted more than 7 million viewers in South Korea, a market tracker said Tuesday.

The sci-fi epic by Christopher Nolan hit the milestone on Monday, becoming the fifth most-viewed film in South Korean theaters this year, according to the data from the Korean Film Council (KOFIC).

The top four films are Korean historical flick “Roaring Currents” (17.61 million), the animated Disney film “Frozen” (10.29 million), and “The Pirates” (8.66 million) and “Miss Granny” (8.65 million), both homegrown movies. Among non-Korean films, “Interstellar” is at No. 2 following “Frozen.”

Industry experts predict “Interstellar” will easily surpass 8 million around this weekend as it accounts for 64.7 percent of box-office tickets reserved for Tuesday.

The film features a team of space travelers who travel through a wormhole in search of a new habitable planet.

Starring Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway as astronauts, it attracted 220,000 moviegoers on its Nov. 6 opening day and surpassed the 1 million mark on its third day and 3 million on its eighth day.

The space saga has also maintained its No. 1 spot on South Korea’s official weekly box-office ranking for the third week in a row.