‘Colony’ races toward weekend box office domination

May 22, 2026, 11:41 am

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Colony, invited to the Midnight Screenings section of the 79th Cannes Film Festival, recorded the biggest opening-day box office performance of the year and is expected to dominate its first weekend in theaters. /Showbox

Colony, which posted the biggest opening-day box office performance of the year in South Korea, is expected to dominate the weekend theatrical market as ticket reservations continue to surge.

According to the Korean Box Office Information System on May 22, “Colony” ranked first in real-time advance ticket sales as of 10 a.m., accounting for 49.4% of all reservations with 265,172 tickets booked.

The biographical music film “Michael” ranked second with 13.0% and 69,948 reservations, followed by the comedy “Wild Thing,” starring Kang Dong-won, Uhm Tae-goo and Park Ji-hyun, which is scheduled for release on June 3.

“Colony” drew 199,768 moviegoers on its opening day on May 21, surpassing “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” which previously held the year’s biggest opening-day record with 150,767 admissions.

Industry observers expect the film to overtake “The Man Living With the King,” which attracted 761,820 viewers during its first weekend, to become the biggest opening weekend hit of 2026.

With May 25 designated as a substitute holiday for Buddha’s Birthday, the film is also considered a strong contender to break this year’s fastest 1 million admissions record currently held by “The Man Living With the King,” which reached the milestone in five days.

Invited to the Midnight Screenings section of the 79th Cannes Film Festival, “Colony” marks the third live-action zombie film by director Yeon Sang-ho following the box office successes “Train to Busan” and “Peninsula.”

Set inside a sealed building in the middle of a city, the film depicts a deadly confrontation between humans and rapidly evolving zombie hordes.

Jun Ji-hyun plays protagonist Kwon Se-jung, who leads efforts to resolve the crisis, while Koo Kyo-hwan portrays Seo Young-chul, the figure responsible for the outbreak who commands the zombie hordes.

The cast also includes Ji Chang-wook, Kim Shin-rok, Shin Hyun-been and Go Soo.

#Colony #Yeon Sang-ho #Cannes Film Festival #Midnight Screenings #Jun Ji-hyun