Walt Disney’s ‘Frozen’ tops Korean box office

“Frozen,” a 3-D animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, topped the Korean box office chart this weekend, beating the local megahit court drama “The Attorney.”

“The Attorney,” inspired by the early years of the late President Roh Moo-hyun, had remained No. 1 on the local chart for four consecutive weeks until Jan. 16. Last weekend, it became the ninth Korean movie and 10th overall to draw more than 10 million spectators in Korea.

Loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen’s famous tale “The Snow Queen,” “Frozen” tells the story of a brave, determined princess who goes on an adventure to find her estranged sister. Her sister has “icy powers” and her spell has trapped the nation in perpetual winter. The film, which premiered on Jan. 16, drew more than 1 million viewers in the four days after its release.

Russian-American action thriller “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit” also opened in theaters on Jan. 16. It has drawn more than 210,000 viewers so far, putting it in third place. Local action thriller “The Suspect” opened in theaters on Dec. 24 and currently holds the fourth spot; more than 4 million viewers have seen the film.

“The Wolf of Wall Street,” an American dark comedy starring Leonardo DiCaprio, is in fifth place. The film hit Korean theaters on Jan. 9, and has attracted more than 129,000 viewers so far.

By Claire Lee (dyc@heraldcorp.com)