'Exhuma' first movie this year to attract 10m moviegoers

Occult flick "Exhuma" on Sunday became the first movie to surpass 10 million in ticket sales this year, having reached the milestone on its 32nd day in theaters, according to Showbox, the film's distributor.

The movie is the first to exceed the 10 million mark in ticket sales since "12.12: The Day," a historical drama about a military coup in 1979, which achieved the milestone on Dec. 24 last year.

Since its premiere in theaters on Feb. 22, "Exhuma" has remained at the top of local box office rankings.

As of Sunday, "Exhuma" became the 23rd Korean movie and the first occult movie to attract more than 10 million moviegoers in Korea.

"Exhuma," directed by Jang Jae-hyun ("Svaha: The Sixth Finger," "The Priests") tells the story of a feng-shui expert, an undertaker and exorcists, who are tasked with the role of relocating a wealthy family's grave in return for a substantial amount of money.

Choi Min-sik, Kim Go-eun, Yoo Hae-jin and Lee Do-hyun star in the movie.

"Exhuma" also became the first film to hit the 10-million mark in ticket sales for Kim Go-eun and Lee Do-hyun.

In addition, "Exhuma" became Choi Min-sik's second film to reach the milestone after "The Admiral: Roaring Currents," which garnered 17.61 million admissions in 2014.

Yoo Hae-jin, following "Veteran" (13.41 million tickets sold), "The King and the Clown" (10.51 million tickets sold), and "A Taxi Driver," (12.18 million tickets sold) has now appeared in his fourth film to have sold more than 10 million tickets.