The South Korean and Chinese box offices delivered contrasting stories over the June 5-7 weekend. In South Korea, local productions continued to dominate the market, led by Yeon Sang-ho’s zombie thriller Colony. Meanwhile, in China, family drama Dear You remained the clear box-office champion, extending one of the year’s most remarkable theatrical runs.
South Korea’s overall box office slowed compared with the previous weekend, while China’s year-to-date revenue remains significantly behind last year’s pace despite several major local hits.
South Korea once again belonged to Colony. The action-horror thriller generated $4 million from 603,868 admissions during its third weekend, accounting for more than 44% of the market’s revenue. The film has now amassed $32.6 million from 4.72 million admissions, cementing its status as one of the country’s biggest local successes of 2026.
The performance is significant for director Yeon Sang-ho, who remains best known internationally for Train to Busan. Colony marks his return to large-scale zombie filmmaking and has continued to demonstrate strong audience appeal following its Cannes premiere. The film was also sold to more than 120 international territories ahead of its debut, highlighting the global demand for Korean genre cinema.
Korean audiences showed a strong preference for local content as comedy Wild Sing opened in second place with $2 million from 321,188 admissions. Directed by Son Jae-gon, the film follows a once-popular K-pop dance trio attempting a comeback two decades after a career-ending scandal. With a cumulative total of $3.4 million, the comedy provided another boost for the local industry and helped Korean productions secure the top two positions on the chart.
The strongest Hollywood performer of the weekend was A24’s Backrooms, which earned $1.3 million and lifted its cumulative total to $5.5 million. The film continues to benefit from strong awareness among younger audiences and re mains one of the better-performing imported titles in the market.
Down the chart, Michael crossed $11 million in South Korea, while The Super Mario Galaxy Movie pushed its total to $10.3 million. Disney’s The Mandalorian and Grogu reached $1.5 million, and Amazon MGM’s Masters of the Universe struggled in its debut, opening with less than $60,000.
While Colony remains a major success story, largely Korean market softened during the weekend. Total box-office revenue fell to $9.1 million, down from $11.9 million the previous frame, suggesting that overall attendance is cooling despite the presence of strong local hits.
In the China Box Office, Dear You continued its extraordinary run at the top of the box office. The family drama collected RMB115.3 million ($17 million) during the weekend, pushing its cumulative total to an impressive $238.5 million.
Directed by Lan Hongchun, the film has emerged as one of China’s biggest surprise successes of the year. Unlike many recent box-office champions, Dear You was not driven by major stars or blockbuster-scale production values. Instead, the film has built momentum through strong word of mouth, emotional storytelling, and its focus on family relationships rooted in Chaoshan culture.
The story follows an elderly woman whose quiet life is disrupted when her grandson embarks on a journey to uncover the truth about his rumored billionaire grandfather. Along the way, decades-old secrets and a long-distance correspondence built around the traditional “Qiaopi” letter-writing system gradually come to light. The film’s strong cultural identity appears to have resonated deeply with local audiences.
Another Chinese title, crime thriller Vanishing Point, continued its solid run with $2.5 million for a cumulative total of $75.6 million. The adaptation of Bei Baokang’s novel has quietly become one of the market’s stronger performers and demonstrates the continued strength of local productions.
Hollywood releases once again struggled to make a meaningful impact. The Mandalorian and Grogu added $1.4 million to reach $12.1 million in China, while Masters of the Universe debuted with just $1.2 million. Historical drama Pressure opened with $1.1 million over its first weekend.
The inability of imported titles to challenge local productions reflects a trend that has become increasingly apparent in recent years. Chinese audiences continue to favor domestic films, particularly those with strong cultural relevance and local storytelling.
The most significant number, however, may not belong to any individual film. China’s year-to-date box office now stands at $2.36 billion, representing a steep 42.3% decline compared with the same period in 2025. While Dear You and Vanishing Point have delivered impressive results, they have not been enough to offset broader weakness across the theatrical marketplace.
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