The Witness (2018 film)
The Witness is a 2018 South Korean crime thriller film directed by Jo Kyu-jang. It stars Lee Sung-min, Kim Sang-ho, Jin Kyung and Kwak Si-yang. It was released theatrically in South Korea on August 15, 2018.[2] The film is about a man who witnesses a murder and takes no action on what he has seen.[3][4]
The Witness | |
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Theatrical poster | |
Hangul | 목격자 |
Revised Romanization | Mok-gyeok-ja |
Directed by | Jo Kyu-jang |
Produced by | Oh Jung-hyun Cha Ji-hyun |
Written by | Lee Young-jong |
Screenplay by | Lee Young-jong |
Starring | Lee Sung-min Kim Sang-ho Jin Kyung Kwak Si-yang |
Music by | Mok Yeong-jin |
Cinematography | Yu Eok |
Edited by | Kim Seon-min |
Production company | AD406 |
Distributed by | Next Entertainment World |
Release date |
|
Running time | 111 minutes |
Country | South Korea |
Language | Korean |
Box office | US$19.2 million[1] |
Plot
One night at his apartment, Sang-Hoon hears a woman's scream. He looks outside his apartment and sees Tae-Ho hitting a woman with a hammer. Sang-Hoon and Tae-Ho then make direct eye contact. Sang-Hoon does not call the police. The next day, that woman is found dead. Detective Jae-Yeob investigates the case. Sang-Hoon is still terrified and does not tell Detective Jae-Yeob about what he witnessed. Soon, another resident who witnessed the same murder is killed by Tae-Ho. Sang-Hoon tries to protect himself and his family from the murderer.
Cast
- Lee Sung-min[5] as Sang-Hoon
- Kim Sang-ho as Jae-Yeob
- Jin Kyung as Soo-jin
- Kwak Si-yang as Tae-ho
- Lee Jae-woo as Detective Jo
- Kim Sung-kyun as Hyung-Gyoon
- Park Bom as Eun-ji
- Shin Seung-hwan as Park Sang-Tae
- Lee Min-woong as Woo-min
- Bae Jung-hwa as Seo-yeon
- Yeon Je-wook as Cola
Production
Principal photography began on September 23, 2017. Production ended in Paju of Gyeonggi Province on December 20, 2017.[6]
Release
The film released theatrically in South Korea on August 15, 2018, with age 15-rating.[2] The Witness was released on VOD by Next Entertainment World on September 7, 2018.[7]
Reception
The film attracted more than 360,000 moviegoers on its first day of release and finished third, behind The Spy Gone North and Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days. However, the film managed to top the box office on its second day of release.[8][9] According to the Korean Film Council, the film surpassed one million moviegoers in four days.[10]
On August 24, 2018, the film reached its break-even point, with more than 1.8 million moviegoers having watched the film.[11] After finishing first during its first weekend, the film dropped to second place during its second weekend, trailing behind On Your Wedding Day. The film had a 45% drop in gross during its second weekend, earning US$3.5 million from 433,006 attendance.[12] During its third weekend, the film dropped to fifth place by attracted 102,080 moviegoers with US$814,283 gross, 77% lower gross compared to second weekend.[13][14] The film dropped to ninth place during its fourth weekend.[15]
As of September 10, the film attracted 2,515,758 admissions with US$19.2 million gross.[1]
Awards and nominations
Awards | Category | Recipient | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2nd The Seoul Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Kim Sang-ho | Nominated | [16] |
References
- "The Witness (2018)". Korean Film Biz Zone.
- "목격자". Naver (in Korean). Retrieved 19 August 2018.
- "The Witness (2018)". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
- "'The Witness' explores how far bystander apathy can go". Yonhap News Agency. 11 July 2018.
- "LEE Sung-min Takes a Look at WITNESS". Korean Film Biz Zone. 2 May 2017.
- "Korean Crime-Thriller 'Witness' Wraps Production". Asian Movie Pulse. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
- Kim Baek-song (September 11, 2018). "'목격자' VOD 극장 서비스 오픈… IPTV·모바일 플랫폼". Kyungin Daily (in Korean).
- Park Seul-gi (August 19, 2018). "'목격자', 개봉 첫날 36만 명 동원…흥행 스릴러 기대감 상승". The Fact (in Korean).
- Kim Eun-ji (August 19, 2018). "[NC스코어]'목격자', '공작'·'신과함께2' 꺾고 박스오피스 1위". News Culture (in Korean).
- Jang Jin-ri (August 19, 2018). "[Oh! 무비] "4일만에 100만 돌파"…'목격자'는 어떻게 다크호스가 됐나". OSEN (in Korean).
- Kim Soo-jung (August 24, 2018). ""이성민의 힘"…'목격자' 손익분기점 180만 돌파 실속흥행". TV Report (in Korean).
- Lee So-yeon (August 27, 2018). "'너의 결혼식' 박보영 박스오피스 1위 지켰다…'목격자' 2위". Sports Today (in Korean).
- Kim Yoo-jin (September 3, 2018). "[무비:스코어] '너의 결혼식' 194만 돌파, 1위 수성…'서치'·'상류사회' 2·3위". Xports News (in Korean).
- "[주말 박스오피스, 2018년 31주차-35주차)". Korean Film Council (KOFIC) (in Korean). Retrieved September 3, 2018.
- Lee Soo-yeon (September 11, 2018). "[영화순위]'서치' 박스오피스 1위…2위 '너의 결혼식'·3위 '업그레이드', '신과함께2' 역대 12위 등극". Kyungin Daily (in Korean).
- "'제2회 더 서울어워즈' 10월27일 개최, 드라마-영화 각 부문별 후보공개". iMBC (in Korean). September 28, 2018.
External links
- The Witness at HanCinema
- The Witness on IMDb
- The Witness at Naver