The sci-fi film Mickey 17 with Robert Pattinson grossed $9 million in its first weekend in Korea alone

Over the weekend, the South Korean film market saw a real breakthrough: the sci-fi film Mickey 17, directed by Pong Joon-ho, debuted with $6.6 million, taking 69% of the market.

Here's What We Know

The film tells the story of a cloned worker, Mickey (Robert Pattinson), who performs dangerous tasks on a distant colony. During its first weekend, the film attracted almost a million viewers (980,549) on 2,153 large screens.

The four-day total was $9 million, thanks to a non-standard Friday release and the Independence Day celebration on Monday.

Mickey 17 surpassed the opening weekend of Captain America: Brave New World to become the most successful release of 2025 in South Korea.

The film has also received critical acclaim for its unique combination of social criticism and exciting storytelling. Pong Joon-ho noted that his goal is to show human nature even in the most extreme conditions.

The director's previous success with Parasites made Mickey 17 one of the most anticipated films of the year.

Warner Bros. Korea is comparing Mickey 17's performance to last year's hit Inside Out 2, which attracted over 8.79 million viewers in Korea. Pon's new film is expected to be another global success following its international release.

Source: Variety