SEOUL, July 16 — The zombie thriller Peninsula attracted more than 350,000 moviegoers on the first day of its release, marking this year’s highest opening-day attendance in South Korean cinema slumped by the coronavirus, its distributor said today.

The sequel to the 2016 mega-hit zombie blockbuster Train to Busan drew 352,926 viewers yesterday, according to the Next Entertainment World Co. It beat this year’s highest first-day score of about 252,000 set by The Man Standing Next in January, Yonhap news agency reported.

Directed by Yeon Sang-ho and starring Gang Dong-won and Lee Jung-hyun, Peninsula tells a tale of survivors on the zombie-infested Korean Peninsula four years after the events in Train to Busan.

The flick made a strong overseas debut on the same day.

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In Singapore, Peninsula racked up 147,000 Singapore Dollars (US$106,000) yesterday to record a record-high first day showing by a South Korean film in the country.

The fantasy Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days (2018) had the highest grossing first day in Singapore for a Korean film with 119,000 Singapore Dollars, followed by Train to Busan (2016) and Parasite (2019).

At the Taiwanese box office, the Peninsula earned US$800,000 yesterday, ahead of US$770,000 tallied by Train to Busan four years ago.

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The new movie was officially invited to this year’s Cannes Film Festival and pre-sold to over 180 nations and territories, including Taiwan, Thailand, Japan, Britain, and France.

It will hit North American screens on August 8, after being released in Vietnam on July 24 and in New Zealand on Aug. 6. — Bernama