A Taxi Driver sells 6 million tickets, aims to hit 10 million audience

A Taxi Driver is expected to surpass today the blockbuster hit "The Battleship Island".

A Taxi Driver
(From left) Song Kang Ho, Ryu Jun-yeol and Thomas Kretschmann. KOFIC

The Korean film "A Taxi Driver" has breached the 6-million ticket mark on its ninth day of showing and continues to dominate the Korean box office.

As of August 10, the movie, which stars Song Kang Ho and German star Thomas Kretschmann, has earned US$41.86 million with total admission of 6.16 million, according to data from the Korean Film Council (KOFIC).

It is expected to surpass today the blockbuster hit "The Battleship Island," which has sold 6.34 million tickets and racked up $42.43 million as of August. 10 since its release on July 26.

"A Taxi Driver" opened at No. 1 on August 2 with 698,090 in total admission and reached the one million audience mark the following day.

Its total audience breached 2 million in three days, 3 million in four days, 4 million in five days and 5 million in seven days. It aims to reach 10 million.

The movie centers on a taxi driver played by Song Kang Ho who is hired by a German journalist played by Kretschmann to go to Gwangju to cover the uprising in the area.

Its story focuses on the Gwanju Uprising in 1980 which resulted in the death of many.

"A Taxi Driver" is being challenged at the box office by the Korean comedy film "Midnight Runners" starring Park Seo-joon and Kang Ha Neul, which opened on August 10 with 308,303 in total admission and revenue of $2.23 million, and the Hollywood horror film "Annabelle: Creation," which ranked third on its opening day.

Yonhap News reported that Edeltraut Brahmstaedt, the wife of late German journalist Jurgen Hinzpeter, was scheduled to visit Seoul last August 8. Hinspeter's life became the basis of "A Taxi Driver."

Last year, she went to Korea to witness the unveiling of a monument that honored her husband.