‘Squid Game 2' Star Kang Ha-neul's ‘Yadang: the Snitch' Tops Korean Box Office Again as ‘A Minecraft Movie' Opens in Second
South Korean crime thriller 'Yadang: The Snitch' defended its box office crown for a second consecutive weekend, earning $3.4 million and capturing 49.5% of total market share.
The film, which opened on April 16, drew another 521,459 admissions, bringing its cumulative gross to $10.7 million from 1.6 million tickets sold, according to Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council.
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Directed by Hwang Byeng-Gug and starring 'Squid Game 2″ actor Kang Ha-neul, 'Yadang: the Snitch,' is from the producers behind record-breaking hit '12:12 The Day' and 'Inside Men.' It follows a professional informant called 'yadang' who provides covert information about the drug world to prosecutors and police. When a drug bust at a party attended by high-profile second-generation VIPs leads to a dangerous conspiracy, the yadang must fight to survive. The film pairs Kang with 'Exhuma' star Yoo Hai-jin and 'The World of the Married' actor Park Hae-joon.
Debuting in second place, 'A Minecraft Movie' delivered a robust $2.2 million opening. The film, adapted from the popular video game, attracted 341,858 admissions across 1,450 screens. Including its limited pre-release screenings from the previous week, its cumulative Korean total stands at $2.4 million from 363,042 admissions.
Former chart-topper 'The Match' continued its steady decline but remained solid in third with $368,374 and 55,264 admissions. The sports drama has now crossed $13.5 million in total gross with just over 2 million tickets sold since late March.
South Korean political documentary 'Search and Seizure: The Rise of an Insurrection' debuted in fourth with $206,262 and 30,296 admissions. The film, which chronicles prosecutors' controversial 2023 raid on an online news outlet amid a defamation dustup with then-President Yoon Suk Yeol,, has grossed $276,864 since its midweek opening.
Japanese anime feature 'Attack on Titan The Movie: The Last Attack' rounded out the top five with $174,076 and 22,441 additional admissions. Its cumulative earnings now stand at $5.5 million from 790,608 admissions.
In sixth place, 'Conclave' added $95,403 to its Korean total, which now sits at $1.9 million from nearly 300,000 admissions since March. Animated newcomer 'Arctic Dogs: The Magic Portal' opened in seventh with $52,635 and 9,519 admissions from 209 screens.
Animated feature 'Flow' stayed in the top 10 in eighth place, earning $28,521. The film's cumulative Korean total now exceeds $1.1 million from 172,903 admissions. Re-released Japanese romance 'April Story' drew $22,055 over the weekend, ranking ninth with a cumulative total of $69,751 from its limited theatrical return.
Finally, British romantic comedy 'Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy' rounded out the top 10 with $23,754 and 3,635 additional admissions. The film's Korean total now stands at $260,768 from 41,104 admissions.
The top 10 films combined for $6.6 million, continuing the upward trend of the last week.
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Los Angeles Times
an hour ago
- Los Angeles Times
MOCA gala honors Frank Gehry, others, raises $3.1 million: L.A. arts and culture this weekend
The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles threw a glitzy bash at the institution's Geffen Contemporary in Little Tokyo Saturday, raising $3.1 million and honoring architect Frank Gehry, artist Theaster Gates and philanthropist Wendy Schmidt. Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi — a surprise guest — showed up to pay tribute to Gehry, while Ava DuVernay celebrated Gates and Jane Fonda honored Schmidt. The special program honoring 'visionaries' who helped shaped the museum's trajectory is part of a new gala tradition called MOCA Legends, which will continue with new honorees next year. The night began with cocktails in the plaza and private access to the Olafur Eliasson exhibition, 'OPEN.' The Japanese American drumming group TAIKOPROJECT played while guests found their seats for dinner. MOCA director Johanna Burton welcomed attendees with a speech about the power of art and its ability to bring communities together. 'As we celebrate our annual gala, we are not just honoring individual achievements, but reaffirming our collective belief in the power of art to connect and challenge; uplift and endure,' Burton said, according to a news release about the event. After Pelosi's introduction of Gehry, which included mention of his 1983 renovation of the Geffen Contemporary, the 96-year-old legend noted how much the museum has meant to him over the years. 'Artists brought me into their club — it's where I wanted to be, and they opened my eyes to another world,' Gehry said. I'm arts and culture writer Jessica Gelt, and I'm here for all the celebrations of art and artists — the more the better. Here's your weekend rundown of arts news. Noah DavisA collection of more than 50 figurative paintings made by the late Los Angeles artist, who died at 32 in 2015, just as Davis' career was beginning to attract wide attention, arrives after stops in Potsdam, Germany, and London. Davis' paintings, often built around found photographs, regularly balance on a knife-edge between daily life and dream. The exhibition represents the first institutional survey of Davis' 31. UCLA Hammer Museum, 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood. Seoul FestivalThe L.A. Phil turns to the South Korean capital this week for a follow-up to its revelatory Reykjavik and Mexico City festivals. Unsuk Chin, today's best-known Korean composer, is the curator. Despite a seeming wealth of renowned performers, Korea remains a musically mysterious land. The mostly youngish composers and performers in the first festival event, an exceptional concert of new music on Tuesday night, were all discoveries. The festival continues with weekend orchestra concerts featuring different mixes of four more new Korean scores commissioned by the L.A. Phil, Chin's 2014 Clarinet Concerto and a pair of Brahms concertos. A chamber music concert with works by Schumann and Brahms played by Korean musicians is the closing event Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. 'Lear Redux'While Center Theatre Group reworks Shakepeare's 'Hamlet' at the Mark Taper Forum (see item below), across town, Odyssey Theatre renews its collaboration with theater artist John Farmanesh-Bocca for a madcap adaptation of the Bard's 'King Lear,' another entry in the director-playwright's Redux series. Veteran stage actor Jack Stehlin stars as the titular monarch in the production, which Stage Raw's Deborah Klugman described as 'wildly idiosyncratic.' In 2016, Times' contributor Philip Brandes made Farmanesh-Bocca's 'Tempest Redux' at the Odyssey (also starring Stehlin) a Critic's Choice, writing that the work 'boldly transposes Shakespeare's play to a darker, more unsettling key, but the inventive staging and solid command of source text make for a memorable re-imagining.'Wednesday-Sunday, through July 13. Odyssey Theatre, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd. When CNN broadcasts a live performance of 'Good Night, and Good Luck' from the Winter Garden in New York City on Saturday (4 p.m. PDT), it's apparently the first time a Broadway play will be shown live on television, and the timing could not be better. An adaptation of George Clooney and Grant Heslov's 2005 film, which chronicled CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow's heroic crusade against Sen. Joseph McCarthy's communist witch hunts, the broodingly elegant production, sharply directed by David Cromer and starring a quietly committed Clooney in the role of Murrow (played in the film by David Strathairn), was not only one of the most stirring offerings of the Broadway season but also one of the most necessary. As media companies face a campaign of intimidation from the Trump administration, the figure of Murrow, standing tall in the face of demagogic adversity, is the courageous example we need right now. I don't know how different the experience will be watching at home, but 'Good Night, and Good Luck' made me reflect on what theatergoing might have been like in ancient Greece. Athenian citizens would gather at an open-air theater as a democratic privilege and responsibility. Playwrights addressed the polis not by dramatizing current events but by recasting tales from the mythological and historic past to sharpen critical thinking on contemporary concerns. Clooney and Heslov aren't writing dramatic poetry. Their more straightforward approach is closer to documentary drama, but the effect is not so disparate. We are affirmed in the knowledge that we are the body politic. — Charles McNulty Director and playwright Robert O'Hara's world premiere adaptation of Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' opened Wednesday at the Mark Taper Forum starring Patrick Ball from 'The Pitt' and Gina Torres from 'Suits.' The Times sat down with the trio of creatives for an interview about how the show came together — as well as the many novel ways it diverges from the traditional script. O'Hara presents a modern-day vision that questions whether Hamlet is a tragic hero or a murderous psychopath. The mystery is solved 'CSI'-style and the tone is very L.A. noir. For his part, Ball can't believe any of this is really happening, having been a relative unknown before 'The Pitt' premiered in January. L.A. Opera announced Domingo Hindoyan as its new music director. Hindoyan — chief conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic — will replace outgoing music director James Conlon when he steps down at the end of the 2026 season. When Hindoyan, a native of Venezuela, made his L.A. Opera debut last November with 'Roméo et Juliette,' Times classical music critic Mark Swed speculated he might be in the running for the coveted position. Turns out he was right. Times contributor Nick Owchar talks with architectural historian Nathan Marsak about the Angel City Press reissue of photographer Arnold Hylen's book of mid-20th century photos, 'Los Angeles Before the Freeways: Images of an Era 1850-1950.' Marsak curated and expanded the new edition, which details a fascinating world of lost streets, civic buildings, shops and restaurants. Orange County Museum of Art executive director Heidi Zuckerman — who announced she will step down in December — has launched a new online platform called 'About Art.' It's home to her 'Why Art Matters' newsletter and 'About Art' podcast, as well as a number of lifestyle offerings including an entry on Zuckerman's love of matcha and how to prepare the perfect cup. In a news release about the venture, Zuckerman notes that her work has gathered a community of 40,000 art enthusiasts. The summer Hollywood Bowl season is upon us, and with it comes the complimentary Market Tasting Series with wine picks by chef Caroline Styne. The fun begins with the Roots Picnic this Sunday in the Plaza Marketplace near the box office. Tastings start an hour before doors open, and you can meet with vintners and reps from Habit Wines, Skurnik Wines, Grapevine Wine Company, Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Elevage Wines and more. The final tasting will take place before the John Legend concert on Sunday, Sept. 28. Speaking of wine, Barnsdall Art Park Foundation is back — beginning tonight at 5:30 p.m. — with its 16th annual Barnsdall Fridays wine tasting fundraiser (the first two Fridays are already sold out). Proceeds from the events, scheduled to run through Sept. 26, support cultural programming at the park. The popular summer series comes as proposed city budget cuts imperil the park's finances. Guests are invited to relax on Olive Hill, as well as the west lawn of Frank Lloyd Wright's Hollyhock House — the only existing UNESCO World Heritage site in the city of Los Angeles. Wines come courtesy of Silverlake Wine, and there are always a variety of local food trucks onsite, as well as a DJ. While there, visitors can check out exhibitions and artist-led presentations at the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery and Barnsdall Junior Arts Center Gallery. — Jessica Gelt I'm happy to report that I've been to 14 of the 17 eateries on The Times Food section's list of L.A.'s oldest restaurants. Some, like Musso & Frank Grill, I've ambled into many times (that martini!), and others, like Mijares Mexican Restaurant, I've stumbled upon while walking around town. I'll spend this weekend visiting the remaining three.
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Ana de Armas remembers 'Ballerina' co-star Lance Reddick as 'so sweet'
Ana de Armas remembers 'Ballerina' co-star Lance Reddick as 'so sweet' Show Caption Hide Caption Ian McShane talks working with Ana de Armas in 'Ballerina' Ian McShane shares why it was smart to bring Ana de Armas into the "John Wick" franchise in the new film "Ballerina." 'John Wick' filmmakers and actors tend to use the same superlatives when remembering Lance Reddick: a great guy, a kind and generous man, a gifted musician. There's another, more surprising one, given his deep voice and often authoritative roles. 'Good-looking guy, very articulate, but he was a nerd. Totally,' says Chad Stahelski, who directed Reddick in four 'Wick' movies. 'He knew video games and Japanese anime as well as anybody.' Reddick, who died at 60 on March 17, 2023, has his last posthumous performance in the 'Wick' spinoff 'Ballerina' (in theaters now). It's a final role in a long and varied career that included films such as 'White House Down' and 'One Night in Miami,' voiceover work in video games and animation, and TV shows like 'The Wire,' 'Lost,' 'Fringe,' 'Oz' and 'Bosch.' Join our Watch Party! Sign up to receive USA TODAY's movie and TV recommendations right in your inbox In 'Ballerina,' Reddick reprised his longtime character Charon, loyal concierge at the hitman-filled New York Continental hotel and right-hand man to manager Winston (Ian McShane). He has a couple of scenes opposite Ana de Armas, who plays new assassin Eve Macarro. 'He was so sweet. He had a very calm presence,' says de Armas, who chatted with him about his daughter. 'There was this softness about him that was really just very special.' 'Ballerina' exclusive scene: Ana de Armas checks into the Continental Eve Macarro (Ana de Armas) meets Charon (Lance Reddick) and Winston (Ian McShane) at the Continental in an exclusive scene from "Ballerina." Reddick had 'a class about him that I think comes across in his character because that's also part of who he is,' 'Ballerina' director Len Wiseman says. Stahelski, an executive producer on 'Ballerina,' recalls Reddick – whom he was a big fan of from 'The Wire' – being the first actor he cast for 2014's original 'John Wick' movie after signing on franchise main man Keanu Reeves. The script didn't include the visual elements that would ultimately come to define the franchise – the neo-noir, the 1970s style kung fu – but Stahelski remembers Reddick inherently understanding the movie's vast potential for storytelling and world-building. 'It's kind of like, hey, we're creating this Greek mythology,' Stahelski recalls. 'He's like, 'No, I get it. Charon, like the River Styx. The whole underworld thing. This is the gateway, I'm the gatekeeper.' And he just started riffing. I'm just staring at him going, 'Well, that was the shortest pitch ever.' ' It was Reddick's idea for Charon to have an African accent, and he built a backstory for his character plus brought his own tailored suits – one blue, one brown – to wear. 'He just came with the game,' Stahelski says. Reddick was 'the guy you want to go talk to' at the food table, and he struck up an easy friendship with McShane, who also came from a theater background. 'When you saw Winston talking to Charon all the time, a lot of the back and forth came from that relationship.' Working with Reddick was 'always a pleasure,' McShane says, adding that he'll miss his co-star's charm, directness and attitude. Reddick's death 'just came as a complete shock. It still does. It's still hard to look at (the movies) and go, wow, not with us anymore.' McShane recalls Reddick being 'really excited' that Charon got out from behind his desk and into the action in 'John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum.' There's a scene where Charon and Wick grab some heavy-duty shotguns and walk down a hallway together, ready to go to war, that reflects the 'brotherhood' theme inherent in 'Wick,' Stahelski says. Also, 'I just like that image because I'm such a big fan of Lance's.' Reddick was Stahelski's 'comrade in arms when it comes to geeking out,' and the filmmaker wishes Reddick could have been at the premiere of 'Ballerina' to celebrate and reunite with cast and crew. 'He didn't just work on the John Wicks, he was part of the John Wicks.'
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Regina sisters embrace Ukrainian dancing at Mosaic and Japanese language at home
When audience members watch the Ukrainian dancers at this year's Mosaic festival, they may be forgiven for assuming that the dancers all speak just English or Ukrainian. But Kiko and Maya Malnyk have the heritages they've inherited from both their parents — learning Ukrainian folk dances from their father's side and speaking Japanese with their Japanese-born mother. "I sometimes think that maybe I'm a little bit special …because not a lot of people are just part Japanese and part Ukrainian," 11-year-old Kiko said. That's something their mother said she tries to get her two daughters to understand and appreciate. "I just keep telling them that they're lucky. They're just lucky that they have so many opportunities to learn," said Izumi Kanayama, adding they get to grow up in Canada and try things like Ukrainian dancing, but also get regular opportunities to visit her own home country of Japan. The girls' father, Chris Malnyk, has also seen how diverse the Ukrainian dancers are, bringing together people who don't necessarily have Ukrainian ethnicity or background. "There's quite a few people from Japan who are involved in it, at least three families," said Malnyk, adding that he could hear Japanese spoken at rehearsals at times. "It's really kind of unique and not what I would have expected going to a Ukrainian dance school. It's been multi-ethnic." Kanayama was born and raised in Japan before coming to Canada in 1995 to learn English and staying on to study economics. It was at the University of Regina that she met her husband through mutual friends. She exclusively speaks Japanese with her daughters so that they can communicate with their Japanese grandparents and extended family. "When they were little, I was just speaking to them in Japanese only. So we didn't do much writing or read that much, but then they just picked it up," Kanayama said. In addition to their Ukrainian dancing, both girls attend Japanese language classes on Saturdays, and even sit to eat meals at a kotatsu, the traditional low table. "We usually eat traditional Japanese food," said Kiko. "I really like it." Both parents feel that their children are fortunate to be able to see and embrace both sides of their cultural heritage. Kanayama said she wants her children to see it gives them opportunities other people may not have, and will help them become kind and productive humans. "I'm just hoping that exploring a different culture will bring richness to their lives."
