'Hope' sweeps box office on debut weekend

The sci-fi blockbuster "Hope" comfortably topped the weekend box-office chart in Korea in its first week of release, data showed Monday.

The Korean film added 1,504,013 admissions over the weekend, bringing its total admissions to 2,129,720 as of Sunday, according to the data released by the Korean Film Council, which compiles admissions from Friday through Sunday for its weekend chart.

It broke the 2-million mark Sunday, its fifth day of opening, reaching the milestone at the fastest pace among films released this year.

"Hope," which competed at this year's prestigious Cannes Film Festival, follows police officers and villagers in the remote coastal town of Hopo as they become embroiled in a series of spiraling events after encountering powerful yet mysterious extraterrestrial beings.

Marking director Na Hong-jin's return a decade after "The Wailing" (2016), it features a star-studded cast, including Hwang Jung-min, Zo In-sung and Jung Ho-yeon, as well as Hollywood actors Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander.

Hollywood animation "Minions & Monsters" also made a strong weekend box-offic ...