Korean films eye Chuseok box office after dodging 'The Odyssey'

Korean films are set for a crowded Chuseok box office battle, with several major releases opening around Sept. 23 and attention shifting after Hollywood titles drew summer audiences. The first out is The Intern, which opened Sept. 16, while Assassins, Possible Love and Tazza: The Song of Belzebub all open Sept. 23. Revival Man: The Red follows on Sept. 30, after the holiday.

The Intern opened Sept. 16 as a remake of the 2015 Hollywood film of the same name.

The film stars Han So-hee and Choi Min-sik in roles originally played by Anne Hathaway and Robert De Niro.

Assassins, Possible Love and Tazza: The Song of Belzebub will all open Sept. 23.

Assassins is a period drama based on the assassination of former first lady Yuk Young-soo and is produced by Hive Media Corp.

Possible Love is Lee Chang-dong’s first new film in eight years and won the Grand Jury Prize at the Venice International Film Festival, which closed Sept. 12.

Published Sep 17, 2026 12:00 am KST

Four Korean films target Chuseok holiday, including Hollywood remake 'The Intern'

Jeon Do-yeon plays the wife of a laid-off worker in the film “Possible Love,” which opens Sept. 23. Courtesy of Netflix

Korean films are expected to engage in a fierce battle for the top spot at the box office during this year’s Chuseok holiday. Several films that had been weighing their release dates to avoid the summer box office rush have instead converged on Chuseok after Na Hong-jin’s new film "Hope" and Hollywood blockbusters "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" and "The Odyssey" opened in succession during the peak summer season.

The competition will be particularly intense on Sept. 23, when three Korean films, including new works by directors Lee Chang-dong and Hur Jin-ho, hit theaters simultaneously. The long-awaited showdown among major Korean productions is expected to continue through the Hangeul Day holiday weekend in early October.

Choi Min-sik, who plays a senior intern, and Han So-hee, the CEO of a fashion company, appear together in a scene from “The Intern,” opening Sept. 16. Courtesy of Warner Bros. Korea

The first film off the starting line is "The Intern," a remake of the 2015 Hollywood film of the same name. Opening Sept. 16, the film has drawn attention with Han So-hee and Choi Min-sik taking the roles played by Anne Hathaway and Robert De Niro in the original. The story follows a fashion industry rising star played by Han, whose company has become a dark horse just three years after its founding, and Choi, who joins the company as a senior intern after retiring following 37 years at a publishing house.

The main competition begins Sept. 23. "Assassins," a new film by Hur Jin-ho based on the assassination of former first lady Yuk Young-soo; "Possible Love," Lee Chang-dong’s new film about laid-off workers; and "Tazza: The Song of Belzebub," the fourth and final installment in the "Tazza" series, will all open that day.

From left, Yoo Hae-jin, who plays a detective tracking down those behind the assassination of first lady Yuk Young-soo (1925-1974), Park Hae-il, who plays a newspaper reporter, and Lee Min-ho in the upcoming film “Assassins" / Courtesy of Hive Media Corp.

"Assassins" is a period drama based on real events, produced by Hive Media Corp., the company behind "12.12: The Day" and "The Man Standing Next." Yoo Hae-jin plays a detective, Park Hae-il a newspaper editor and Lee Min-ho a rookie reporter as they pursue those behind the assassination.

"Possible Love," Lee Chang-dong’s first new film in eight years, follows two couples who meet through the production of a documentary: a married couple of laid-off heavy-industry workers, played by Sol Kyung-gu and Jeon Do-yeon, who fought against large-scale restructuring, and an affluent couple, played by Cho Yeo-jeong and Zo In-sung, who work as documentary filmmakers.

From left, Sol Kyung-gu and Jeon Do-yeon, who play a couple of laid-off workers, and Cho Yeo-jeong and Zo In-sung, who play a married couple of documentary filmmakers, in director Lee Chang-dong’s “Possible Love" / Courtesy of Netflix

Expectations for the film have soared after Lee won the Grand Jury Prize, the festival’s second-highest award, for the film at the Venice International Film Festival, which closed Sept. 12. Netflix, the film’s distributor, will screen it in theaters for just two weeks to meet eligibility requirements for submission to the U.S. Academy Awards.

‘Tazza: The Song of Belzebub" is a spin-off with no narrative connection to the previous "Tazza" films. It is a crime entertainment film about a character played by Byun Yo-han who seeks revenge after being betrayed by a former business partner, played by Noh Jae-won.

Byun Yo-han, right, and Noh Jae-won, who play friends and business partners in the film “Tazza: The Song of Belzebub" / Courtesy of CJ ENM and Sidus

"Revival Man: The Red," starring Koo Kyo-hwan, will open Sept. 30, after the Chuseok holiday. Koo’s popularity has surged recently following the film "Us, Our Summer" and the drama "We Are All Trying Here," leading audiences to finally see this film, which completed production in 2024. Koo plays a job seeker who repeatedly comes back to life no matter how many times he is killed in this action comedy based on the webtoon of the same name.

Koo Kyo-hwan plays a job seeker who repeatedly comes back to life in the film “Revival Man: The Red.” Courtesy of Lotte Entertainment and Yong Film

As the buzz surrounding Christopher Nolan’s "The Odyssey" gradually dies down, attention is turning to which Korean film will take over the Chuseok box office.

Moviegoers book tickets at a theater in Seoul, Sept. 6. Yonhap

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.

韩国电影即将迎来中秋节档期的票房大战，多部重磅影片将于9月23日前后上映，在好莱坞大片吸引暑期档观众后，韩国电影的关注度也随之转移。率先上映的是《实习生》，已于9月16日上映；《刺客》、《可能的爱》和《老千：别西卜之歌》均将于9月23日上映；《复活之人：红色》则将于9月30日，也就是中秋节假期后上映。

《实习生》于9月16日上映，翻拍自2015年同名好莱坞电影。

该片由韩素希和崔岷植主演，分别饰演安妮·海瑟薇和罗伯特·德尼罗原先扮演的角色。

《刺客》、《可能的爱情》和《老千：别西卜之歌》都将于9月23日上映。

《刺客》是一部以日本前第一夫人陆英秀遇刺事件为背景的时代剧，由 Hive Media Corp. 制作。

《可能的爱情》是李沧东八年来的首部新电影，并荣获威尼斯国际电影节评审团大奖，该电影节于9月12日闭幕。

发布于2026年9月17日凌晨12:00（韩国标准时间）

四部韩国电影瞄准中秋节，其中包括好莱坞翻拍版《实习生》。

全度妍在电影《可能的爱》中饰演一位失业工人的妻子，该片将于9月23日上映。图片由Netflix提供。

预计今年中秋节期间，韩国电影将展开激烈的票房争夺战。此前，一些为了避开暑期档而调整档期的影片，在罗泓轸的新片《希望》以及好莱坞大片《蜘蛛侠：全新的一天》和《奥德赛》相继在暑期档上映后，最终都选择了在中秋节档期上映。

9月23日，包括李沧东和许秦豪两位导演的新作在内的三部韩国电影将同时上映，届时竞争将尤为激烈。这场备受瞩目的韩国大片对决预计将持续到10月初的韩文日长周末。

在9月16日上映的电影《实习生》中，饰演资深实习生的崔岷植和饰演时尚公司CEO的韩素熙同框出现。图片由华纳兄弟韩国公司提供。

首部上映的影片是《实习生》，翻拍自2015年的同名好莱坞电影。该片将于9月16日上映，由韩素希和崔岷植分别饰演原版中安妮·海瑟薇和罗伯特·德尼罗的角色，备受瞩目。故事讲述了韩素希饰演的时尚界新星，她的公司在成立仅三年后便迅速崛起；以及崔岷植饰演的在出版社工作37年后退休，以高级实习生的身份加入该公司的故事。

主竞赛单元将于9月23日开始。许镇昊执导的根据前第一夫人陆英秀遇刺事件改编的新片《刺客》；李沧东执导的关于下岗工人的新片《可能的爱情》；以及《老千》系列的第四部也是最后一部《老千：别西卜之歌》都将于当天上映。

从左至右，在即将上映的电影《刺客》中饰演追查刺杀第一夫人柳英秀（1925-1974）幕后黑手的侦探柳海镇、饰演报社记者的朴海日和李敏镐 / 图片由 Hive Media Corp. 提供。

《刺客》是一部根据真实事件改编的时代剧，由Hive Media Corp.制作，该公司曾制作过《12.12：那一天》和《南山的男人》。柳海镇饰演一名刑警，朴海日饰演一名报社编辑，李敏镐饰演一名新晋记者，他们三人追查幕后黑手，揭露刺杀事件的真相。

李沧东八年来的首部新作《可能的爱情》讲述了两对因拍摄纪录片而相识的夫妇的故事：一对是因重工业裁员而被迫结婚的夫妇（薛景求和全度妍饰演），他们曾与大规模的重组作斗争；另一对是富裕的夫妇（赵汝贞和赵仁成饰演），他们从事纪录片制作工作。

从左至右依次为：薛景求和全度妍（饰演一对失业夫妇）、赵汝贞和赵寅成（饰演一对纪录片导演夫妇），出自导演李沧东执导的《可能的爱》/ 图片由 Netflix 提供

在李安凭借该片在9月12日闭幕的威尼斯国际电影节上获得评审团大奖（电影节第二高奖项）后，人们对这部电影的期待值飙升。该片的发行商Netflix将只在影院上映两周，以满足参加美国奥斯卡金像奖的资格要求。

《老千：别西卜之歌》是一部与之前的《老千》系列电影剧情无关的衍生作品。这是一部犯罪娱乐片，讲述了卞耀汉饰演的角色在被前商业伙伴（卢在元饰演）背叛后展开复仇的故事。

卞耀汉（右）和卢载元在电影《老千：别西卜之歌》中饰演朋友兼商业伙伴 / 图片由 CJ ENM 和 Sidus 提供

由具教焕主演的《复活男：红色》将于中秋节假期后的9月30日上映。具教焕凭借电影《我们，我们的夏天》和电视剧《我们都在这里努力》人气飙升，也让观众们翘首以盼这部早在2024年就已完成制作的电影。在这部根据同名网络漫画改编的动作喜剧中，具教焕饰演一位无论死多少次都能复活的求职者。

具教焕在电影《复活男：红色》中饰演一位反复复活的求职者。图片由乐天娱乐和永影业提供。

随着克里斯托弗·诺兰的《奥德赛》的热度逐渐消退，人们的注意力开始转向哪部韩国电影将称霸中秋节票房。

9月6日，首尔一家影院，影迷们正在购票。（韩联社）

本文来自《韩国日报》（《韩国时报》的姊妹报），由人工智能生成系统翻译，并由《韩国时报》编辑。