Kang Dong Won and Lee Jung Hyun's new blockbuster "Peninsula" premiered on July 15 in South Korea, attracting more than 350,000 on its first day.
The movie is the sequel to the hit 2016 zombie film "Train to Busan" and is chosen for Cannes 2020. It showed its strength amid the coronavirus pandemic, topping the box office, according to the Korean Film Council as reported by Soompi.
Producer Lee Dong Ha said that while the movie was released "at a difficult time, so this is a meaningful achievement." He also said that he and Director Yeon Sang-Ho would monitor how the film will do in the long-term.
"Peninsula" snatched the record for the highest first-day viewers since February when South Korea raised its COVID-19 alert level to "severe" and movie theaters were forced to shut down for months. Another zombie film, "#ALIVE," featuring Park Shin Hye and Yoo Ah In previously held the record with 204,071 moviegoers when it premiered last month.
Train to Busan earned $77.4 million in the global box office. While it might be difficult to reach such a huge number while most movie theaters are still closed, the film was also released in Singapore, Taiwan, and Hong Kong where it was partly filmed. It will also be shown in Malaysia on July 16 while its North America premiere will be on August 7.
Peninsula: A sequel, but not a continuation
In a review published in Screen Daily, it is clarified that while Peninsula is tagged as a sequel to worldwide hit movie Train to Busan, it is not necessarily a continuation of the story.
The movie is reminiscent of the original film. Playing on the lead role is Kang Dong-won playing Jung-Seok, a soldier who flees with his family on a ship as a zombie outbreak struck the country. While he and his brother-in-law Cheol-min (Kim Do-Yoon) have reached Hong Kong, the virus struck his sister and nephew while on the craft.
After four years, Jung-Seok returns to the nation, which is now under quarantine, while Cheol-min and his crew brought bags of cash they found in an abandoned truck to Hong Kong.
However, They are ambushed by Unit 631, a group of militia headed by Sergeant Hwang (Kim Min-Jae) and Captain Seo (Koo Kyo-hwan) who took Cheol-min. Jung-Seok was able to escape with the help of two girls, then met their mother Min-jung (Lee Jung-Hyun). They then worked together to find Cheol-min, retrieve the money, and escape out of the peninsula.
Like the original movie, Peninsula's plot is straightforward, which allows the audience to focus on thrilling scenes such as the car chase on the Seoul roads that reminds of Mad Max: Fury Road scenes.
Aside from the exceptional cinematography, the post-production work reflects Yeon's brilliant skills both as a filmmaker and an animator. The film's night-time visuals create more pragmatic effects than Train to Busan. Meanwhile, Peninsula's excellent musical scoring, production design all add up to give a great viewing experience.
