'Memoir of a Murderer' sells 1 million tickets, tops Korean box office

Starring Seol Kyung Kyu, Kim Nam-gil, AOA's Seolhyun and Oh Dal-su, the movie topped the box office on its opening day on September 6 with 143,583 in tickets sold and gross of US$947,003.

Memoir of a Murderer
Seol Kyung Kyu in 'Memoir of a Murderer' KOFIC

The Korean crime-thriller movie "Memoir of a Murderer" has sold more than one million tickets as it continued to dominate the daily and weekend box offices.

Starring Seol Kyung Kyu, Kim Nam-gil, AOA's Seolhyun and Oh Dal-su, the movie topped the box office on its opening day on September 6 with 143,583 in tickets sold and gross of US$947,003, edging out the Hollywood horror "It."

It also topped its first weekend box office from September 8-10, earning $6.69 million and selling 899,981 tickets for a 43.06 market share for the period. "It" placed second with 418,454 tickets sold followed by "The Hitman's Bodyguard" with 275,319 in total admission.

"Memoir of a Murderer" reached 1.19 million in total admission on its fifth day on September 10.

As of September 11, the movie has earned $9.45 million with 1.31 million in total admission, according to the Korean Film Council (KOFIC).

The film tells the story of a former serial killer played by Seol Kyung Kyu who is afflicted with Alzheimer's Disease and tries to protect his daughter played by Seolhyun.

When asked what did he think of his movie, Seol Kyung Kyu said, "To be honest, I was focused only on my role during the press preview."

"It was like watching the movie one step behind everyone else. Next time, I should watch the movie instead of my own performance. Director Won's style of filming emphasizes speed, so I imagined things would speed up in the middle of the movie. Instead, it progressed steadily," he explained.

He said that "the exterior parts of my character I found to be a bit off. I could find my own flaws within my eyes, and I wondered 'Why did I do my hair like that in this scene?'"

In the movie, Seol Kyung Kyu's acting became detailed especially in portraying a person with Alzheimer's.

"I expressed minute twitches to show the extent of the brain impairment. The severe spasm begins after the car accident happens on the film, and it derives from damages the brain received. The script describes it as 'twitching around the eye,'" he said.