Train to Busan is highest-grossing Korean film in Hong Kong box office history

Zombies-on-a-train action thriller starring Gong Yoo dethrones 2002 romantic comedy My Sassy Girl, capping a big month for Hong Kong distributor Edko Films – also behind record-earning local film Cold War 2

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Published: 2:30pm, 29 Aug 2016Updated: 2:31pm, 29 Aug 2016

Following weeks of sold-out “preview” screenings, South Korean zombie movie Train to Busan broke the city’s box office record for a Korean-language film within four days of its August 25 general release, taking in more than HK$16 million at the 47 cinemas showing it in Hong Kong.

Previously, the highest-grossing Korean film in Hong Kong had been My Sassy Girl, released in Hong Kong in February 2002. Often considered a classic of its genre, the romantic comedy took in slightly more than HK$14 million over its cinematic run.

Premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, Train to Busan is also a record-breaking hit at the South Korean box office. Starring Gong Yoo, the live-action debut by animation director Yeon Sang-ho is a breathlessly entertaining action thriller which imagines a zombie outbreak on a bullet train.

Train to Busan is distributed in Hong Kong by Edko Films, the company which has just overseen the record-breaking release of local crime thriller Cold War 2, the top-earning Chinese-language film in Hong Kong box office history.