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"Spider-Man: Brand New Day," Hollywood's superhero blockbuster, has overtaken "HOPE" in cumulative admissions, beginning to seize control of this summer's "Big 3" box office battle. / Courtesy of Sony Pictures

"Spider-Man: Brand New Day," on an unstoppable box office run, has finally surpassed "HOPE." Meanwhile, "The Odyssey" opened at No. 1 on the daily box office chart.

According to the Korean Film Council's Integrated Computer Network on the 6th, "Spider-Man..." drew 273,603 moviegoers the previous day, slipping to No. 2 on the daily chart after ceding the top spot — which it had held every day since its release on the 29th of last month — to "The Odyssey" (291,008). However, in cumulative admissions, "Spider-Man..." has now reached 4,407,748, overtaking "HOPE" (4,265,571), which had a roughly two-week head start, taking the lead in this summer's "Big 3" box office battle.

"Spider-Man...," the fourth installment starring Tom Holland in the title role, has been drawing strong praise for deepening its dramatic depth by focusing on the hero's search for his true self, and is riding a wave of box office success around the world, including in Korea.

According to box office tracking site Box Office Mojo on the 6th, "Spider-Man..." had grossed $1.15 billion worldwide as of the 4th, surpassing "Toy Story 5" ($1.06 billion) to claim the top spot for global box office revenue so far this year.

"HOPE," meanwhile, has begun showing a clear decline. The film drew just 29,873 moviegoers on the 5th alone, dropping two spots to No. 4 on the daily chart. That figure is less than half of the previous day's attendance (61,226) and falls well short even of the children's animated film "Catch Teenieping: The Legend of the Whale Jewel" (73,032).

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"The Odyssey," based on Homer's epic and running 2 hours and 52 minutes, is expected to lean heavily on a "quality over quantity" strategy, betting on premium-format screenings like IMAX to drive revenue. / Courtesy of Universal Pictures

Meanwhile, "The Odyssey" opened at No. 1 as expected, but how it manages the longest runtime among the "Big 3" (2 hours, 52 minutes) has emerged as the key factor for its box office prospects.

Ahead of release, director Christopher Nolan, producer and wife Emma Thomas, and lead stars Matt Damon and Charlize Theron visited Korea for an unusually extended stay by major Hollywood figures, taking part in a press conference, TV appearances, and a trip to a baseball game, among other promotional activities. Combined with overwhelmingly positive word of mouth and a flood of related content from YouTube and publishers, advance ticket sales surged to 540,000 the day before release. But looking purely at opening-day numbers, the film fell well short of "Spider-Man..." (688,407), which has a relatively shorter runtime (2 hours 25 minutes).

As a result, "The Odyssey" is expected to bet heavily on a long theatrical run in premium formats like IMAX, which command higher ticket prices. Industry watchers expect the film's distributor to widely promote the fact that it is the first film in movie history shot entirely on 70mm IMAX cameras, pursuing a "quality over quantity" strategy to maximize revenue.

                                                                                                           Cho Seong-jun