Jang Hang‑jun’s historical drama The Man Who Lives with the King has become the highest‑grossing Korean film of all time.
On March 29, the Korea Film Council’s integrated ticketing system reported that the film drew 225,155 viewers the previous day, keeping the top spot at the box office. Its cumulative admissions now stand at 15,427,365.
On its 50th day in theaters, the film crossed the 15‑million mark, overtaking Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds (14,410,000 admissions) and moving into third place on the domestic all‑time box office chart.
The Admiral: Roaring Currents (17,610,000) and Extreme Job (16,260,000) remain first and second in admissions, respectively. But in terms of cumulative box‑office revenue, The Man Who Lives with the King has moved into the No. 1 position.
Produced for roughly 10.5 billion KRW (approximately $7.9 million USD), the film has earned about 148.8 billion KRW—roughly 14 times its budget—which converts to approximately $111.6 million USD. The previous top earner, Extreme Job, grossed 139.6 billion KRW (about $104.7 million USD), while The Admiral: Roaring Currents made 135.7 billion KRW (about $101.8 million USD).
Having long since passed its break‑even point, the picture continues to ride strong ticket‑sales momentum, and industry watchers are tracking which further records it might set. It needs roughly 830,000 more admissions to catch Extreme Job for second place by admissions.
Set in 1457 at Cheongryeongpo, the film tells the story of a deposed young king and a village headman who volunteers for exile to revive his community. The cast includes Yoo Hae‑jin, Park Ji‑hoon and Yoo Ji‑tae, with Jang Hang‑jun directing.
