South Korea Box Office: 'Frozen' Becomes Second-Most-Watched Foreign Film

Recording more than 9 million admissions and $69.19 million in receipts, the Disney film has surpassed "Iron Man 3" to become the second-most-successful imported film in Korean box-office history after "Avatar."

SEOUL – Not long since becoming the most successful feature animation title at the South Korean box office, Frozen has become the second-most-watched foreign film in the country after James Cameron's sci-fi blockbuster Avatar.

On Wednesday, Frozen recorded 9.18 million admissions at the local box office, topping Iron Man 3's score of 9 million.

The Disney Animation pic has so far grossed over $69.19 million (73.6 billion won), making the cume in Korea the highest for Frozen outside of the U.S., or close to 12 percent of its overseas box-office revenue.

Onlookers are curious whether Frozen will become the first animated film to bring in 10 million admissions.

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Korea's film offices use admissions as their primary measure, and only a handful of films have reached the milestone. Avatar remains the most watched film in the country's history with 13.62 million admissions. Just seven other films -- all of them Korean -- have crossed the 10 million admissions mark.

Other foreign films that have performed well in the past include Transformer: Dark of the Moon (7.78 million admissions), Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (7.57 million), Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (7.5 million) and Transformers (7.4 million).

"Unlike conventional animations, Frozen seems to appeal to audiences of all ages, in particular adult viewers," said a PR representative for Frozen in Korea. "About 40 percent of viewers have opted for the dubbed version. This suggests that the film appeals to adults; the figure is significantly lower than that for most animations, where a majority of viewers will watch the dubbed version."

Meanwhile Frozen has topped the box office for the second consecutive week after ceding first place to the local comedy Miss Granny during the weekend of Jan. 31-Feb. 2. Before that it held the top spot for two weeks after opening in theaters on Jan. 16. Miss Granny is also performing strongly with close to 7 million admissions.