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
Theatrical poster
Hangul목격자
Revised RomanizationMok-gyeok-ja
Directed byJo Kyu-jang
Produced byOh Jung-hyun
Cha Ji-hyun
Written byLee Young-jong
StarringLee Sung-min
Kim Sang-ho
Jin Kyung
Kwak Si-yang
Music byMok Yeong-jin
CinematographyYu Eok
Edited byKim Seon-min
Production
company
AD406
Distributed byNext Entertainment World
Release date
  • August 15, 2018 (2018-08-15)
Running time
111 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean
Box officeUS$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

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
  1. "The Witness (2018)". Korean Film Biz Zone.
  2. "목격자". Naver (in Korean). Retrieved 19 August 2018.
  3. "The Witness (2018)". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
  4. "'The Witness' explores how far bystander apathy can go". Yonhap News Agency. 11 July 2018.
  5. "LEE Sung-min Takes a Look at WITNESS". Korean Film Biz Zone. 2 May 2017.
  6. "Korean Crime-Thriller 'Witness' Wraps Production". Asian Movie Pulse. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
  7. Kim Baek-song (September 11, 2018). "'목격자' VOD 극장 서비스 오픈… IPTV·모바일 플랫폼". Kyungin Daily (in Korean).
  8. Park Seul-gi (August 19, 2018). "'목격자', 개봉 첫날 36만 명 동원…흥행 스릴러 기대감 상승". The Fact (in Korean).
  9. Kim Eun-ji (August 19, 2018). "[NC스코어]'목격자', '공작'·'신과함께2' 꺾고 박스오피스 1위". News Culture (in Korean).
  10. Jang Jin-ri (August 19, 2018). "[Oh! 무비] "4일만에 100만 돌파"…'목격자'는 어떻게 다크호스가 됐나". OSEN (in Korean).
  11. Kim Soo-jung (August 24, 2018). ""이성민의 힘"…'목격자' 손익분기점 180만 돌파 실속흥행". TV Report (in Korean).
  12. Lee So-yeon (August 27, 2018). "'너의 결혼식' 박보영 박스오피스 1위 지켰다…'목격자' 2위". Sports Today (in Korean).
  13. Kim Yoo-jin (September 3, 2018). "[무비:스코어] '너의 결혼식' 194만 돌파, 1위 수성…'서치'·'상류사회' 2·3위". Xports News (in Korean).
  14. "[주말 박스오피스, 2018년 31주차-35주차)". Korean Film Council (KOFIC) (in Korean). Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  15. Lee Soo-yeon (September 11, 2018). "[영화순위]'서치' 박스오피스 1위…2위 '너의 결혼식'·3위 '업그레이드', '신과함께2' 역대 12위 등극". Kyungin Daily (in Korean).
  16. "'제2회 더 서울어워즈' 10월27일 개최, 드라마-영화 각 부문별 후보공개". iMBC (in Korean). September 28, 2018.
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