Fire and Ash’ dominates again

James Cameron’s “Avatar: Fire and Ash” continued to dominate the Korean box office between Dec. 26 and 28, raking in $8.6 million from more than 1 million admissions, according to KOBIS, the tracking service run by the Korea Film Council. The film has now grossed $32.5 million.

“Zootopia 2” remained a strong No. 2, adding $3 million for the weekend and bringing its cumulative total to $50.3 million. The sequel has now surpassed 7.4 million admissions, cementing its status as one of the best-performing imported animation releases of 2025.

In third place was the South Korean romantic drama “Even If This Love Vanishes the World Tonight,” which opened with $1.2 million. Directed by Kim Hye-young and based on the novel by Ichijo Misaki, the film stars Choo Young-woo and Shin Si-ah in a bittersweet high school romance centered on a girl suffering from anterograde amnesia whose memories reset every morning. The film grossed $2.5 million in its first five days.

Japanese animated film “Crayon Shinchan the Movie: Super Hot! The Spicy Kasukabe Dancers” followed in fourth place, grossing $773,000 for a cumulative total of $1.8 million.

Local family title “Pororo the Movie: Sweet Castle Adventure” placed fifth, adding $147,000 to reach $1.2 million. The comedy-drama “The People Upstairs” continued its steady rise in sixth place, bringing its cumulative haul to $3.6 million. Directed by Ha Jung-woo and starring Gong Hyo-jin, Kim Dong-wook, Lee Ha-nee and Ha Jung-woo himself, the film follows a downstairs couple exhausted by the constant noise from their upstairs neighbors. A tense dinner intended to resolve the issue quickly turns into an evening of pointed confessions and shifting dynamics.

Stephen King adaptation “The Life of Chuck” debuted in seventh place with $43,642, while “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” added $38,622, bringing its total to $1.5 million.

Rounding out the rankings were Japanese anthologies “Tatsuki Fujimoto 17-26 Part-1” and “Tatsuki Fujimoto 17-26 Part-2,” which grossed $44,274 and $44,473, respectively.

The top 10 films collectively grossed $14.02 million over the weekend of December 26-28, down slightly from last weekend’s $15.2 million.