Kim Soo-hyun piggybacks The Thieves’ 10 millionth moviegoer
by javabeans
Ha, this is what you get when you make a public wager, your film blows up into a huge box office success, and then you have to do as you jokingly promised you would. In Kim Soo-hyun’s case, he’d made a declaration last month at the film’s red carpet event that if The Thieves broke the 10-million-tickets-sold mark, he’d give a personal piggyback ride to the 10 millionth ticketholder.
Time to put your money where your mouth is! Kim gave the promised ride on August 18 at Seoul’s Megabox in Kangnam, along with his co-star Kim Hae-sook, who had her own promise to keep, bestowing a moviegoer with a kiss. I have no idea how people were able to pinpoint which exact ticket sold in the country was the 10 millionth, but they located the female middle-school student, who came up from the countryside with her parents for the event. She got her piggyback ride around the theater and apparently cried in joy. I don’t blame ya. He just made her the coolest girl in school.
The Thieves has now overtaken Silmido on the all-time Korean box office list, claiming the No. 5 position. Its 11.1 million tickets sold just outpaces Silmido’s 11.08, although there’s still time for that number to climb. If it brings in more than 11.39 million, it’ll beat out Haeundae for 4th place. (No. 3 on the list is Taegukgi, No. 2 The King and the Clown, and No. 1 The Host.)
As I mentioned in this recent post, Gone With the Wind is also logging impressive numbers at the box office with its similar-but-not-quite premise: Joseon thieves band together on a grand-scale heist… for ice. Same conflict, different commodity.
I don’t know if it’s something in the water that brings all these similarly-themed projects out at the same time, or maybe it’s a huge coincidence. (Or series of them.) But it’s summertime, and star-studded action pieces tend to do well, and hey, who doesn’t love a good David-robs-Goliath story?
So while Gone With the Wind enters its third week of screenings, The Thieves heads into Month 2 and has also scored an invitation to the 37th Toronto International Film Festival. Hm, it seems like a rather commercial project for a film festival, but nobody’s complaining about the exposure. The move will screen in the Contemporary World Cinema category.
Via Yonhap News, TV Report
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- The Thieves sets new box office record
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- The Thieves releases introductory trailer
- The Thieves sells abroad, prepares for the big swindle
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Tags: box office, Cha Tae-hyun, Kim Soo-hyun, Lee Jung-jae
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1 Dix
August 20, 2012 at 3:18 PM
He is luck it's not a big man.
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jomo143
August 20, 2012 at 5:27 PM
LOL! Can you imagine if it were a big anyone?
He'd be crushed!
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rearwindow
August 20, 2012 at 7:25 PM
That would be HILARIOUS.
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lavoris
August 21, 2012 at 9:52 AM
That's what I was thinking, he might have bitten off more than he could chew. Don't try this one in 'The States'! :)
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2 Mystisith
August 20, 2012 at 3:21 PM
I love stupid bets. So. Much. :) They make life more interesting. Hold on girl! It's surely your lucky day. Who knows...
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3 Arhazivory
August 20, 2012 at 3:27 PM
Luck~y. lol.
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4 Eye Candy
August 20, 2012 at 3:33 PM
I'm really glad he kept his silly promise because even though he made it as a joke, it would have been lame if he had backed out of it. I think the girl looks a little overwhelmed, but she has an awesome story to tell later. Sigh, too bad I didn't buy a ticket...
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5 Noemi
August 20, 2012 at 3:40 PM
that's so cute! :D
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6 Di
August 20, 2012 at 3:54 PM
lucky girl ♥
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7 Ivoire
August 20, 2012 at 4:03 PM
Funny!
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8 jules
August 20, 2012 at 4:06 PM
who doesn’t love a good David-robs-Goliath story?
Ha, I totally read that as: David-rubs-Goliath, which would've been an altogether different story...
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CoH
August 20, 2012 at 4:19 PM
HAHAHA
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Kiara
August 20, 2012 at 5:27 PM
Lol ..glad it wasn't a big guy that won.
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SoyJade
August 20, 2012 at 10:28 PM
I think they might have chosen the most suitable winner for PR purposes, instead of leaving it to luck. IMO. She is a perfect candidate for a winner. A guy, an older woman or a young 18+ woman would have been uncomfortable, or not given the story the sweetness this one adds.
Just my 2 cents. Kind of reminds me of Secret Garden when they chose the winner to the trip to Jeju Island w/ Oska. :)
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9 come2noona
August 20, 2012 at 4:10 PM
Awwww. How exciting for that girl!
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10 coffeevampire
August 20, 2012 at 4:10 PM
I would love a piggy back ride too!!!!
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11 lu24
August 20, 2012 at 4:18 PM
how lucky she was :)
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12 laruelqueen
August 20, 2012 at 4:19 PM
Omg super lucky wish I were a middle schooler haha
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13 Emily
August 20, 2012 at 4:58 PM
From what I heard, they held the event and would choose the lucky people from the event itself as there is highly improbable of determining who the 10th million viewer is.
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14 Emily
August 20, 2012 at 4:58 PM
From what I heard, they held the event and would choose the lucky people from the event itself as there is highly improbable of determining who the 10th million viewer is.
But ha, at least it was a young student. :]
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15 Fiercediva
August 20, 2012 at 5:14 PM
As a regular attendee of the Toronto Int'l Film Festival, I'm thrilled "The Thieves" will be there (as well as Song Joong-ki's "A Werewolf Boy") and hoping for some cast to appear at the premiere as is customary. Toronto isn't Sundance; prospective Oscar nominees like "The King's Speech" are are regularly screened alongside more indie fare. This year the festival is premiering an Asian Film Summit for industry attendees covering financing, distribution and marketing strategies that should also prove fruitful.
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msim
August 20, 2012 at 5:37 PM
Yep, the TO festival is a delicate balance of commercial and artistic: catch a Hollywood blockbuster, than an indie Vietnamese film about a poet, than a Finnish flick, then an Iranian lesbian love story.
That festival is a gem!
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16 danna
August 20, 2012 at 5:18 PM
so very jealous right now!! lol...think I would cry too
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17 Steamy Bun
August 20, 2012 at 5:26 PM
omo, that is so CUTE!! Though I kind of wish the 10 millionth viewer would have been an indifferent ajusshi or haraboeji LOL.
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18 Noelle
August 20, 2012 at 5:26 PM
Aww that is so sweet of them.
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19 Noelle
August 20, 2012 at 5:29 PM
Aww that is so sweet of them.
Ya know he's probably ecstatic it was a little girl. He needs his back after all ;p
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20 dulcedeleche
August 20, 2012 at 5:31 PM
Seriously where/when can i watch this movie????
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21 DarknessEyes
August 20, 2012 at 5:31 PM
haha Kim Soo Hyun looks mighty cute there. <3
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22 malta
August 20, 2012 at 5:46 PM
Wow, she was holding on for dear life. Very cute. Probably made her year...heck, her adolescences. LOL
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23 ujsid
August 20, 2012 at 5:46 PM
Oh god i would have does if i had won a chance to piggy back ride Kim Soo Hyun!! *dreams*
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24 ujsid
August 20, 2012 at 5:49 PM
^^*died*
Lol made a typo!
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25 ck1Oz
August 20, 2012 at 5:57 PM
She was so cute bet she will be a fan for life now.
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26 nheony
August 20, 2012 at 6:01 PM
That is so sweet. *envious
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27 biankoy
August 20, 2012 at 6:57 PM
JEALOUS!!!!
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28 topper
August 21, 2012 at 12:33 AM
A big male movie goer would have been epic. I bet even if it was the case the results would have been manipulated, or the winner would have turned it down.
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29 hima
August 21, 2012 at 1:32 AM
*sigh* its things like this that make me wish i lived in Korea..!
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30 mandy
August 21, 2012 at 4:17 AM
Anyone glad that it turns out to be a lightweight middleschooler?
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Daktari
August 21, 2012 at 5:23 AM
Pretty sure Kim Soo-hyun is :)
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31 pumpkinattack
August 21, 2012 at 6:28 AM
That's soooo adorable! :D
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32 sean
August 21, 2012 at 10:46 AM
oh my gosh.
if the film's coming to TIFF...then possibly so will kim soo hyun and i will be SO fricking happy. I'm gonna creep the streets for him :3
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33 thamoley
August 21, 2012 at 10:57 AM
Too cute!! Can't wait to see the movie
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34 Ruky
August 21, 2012 at 12:07 PM
I am just happy she wasn't heavy like me LOL
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35 nonski ⭐️A forever JIN who crash landed on Hyun Bins heart❤️!
August 21, 2012 at 8:51 PM
awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww~~~~ cutie :)
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36 Jin Ari
August 22, 2012 at 3:20 AM
OMG! He really did it! So cute!
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37 lei
August 25, 2012 at 5:06 AM
at least he did it for a promise. lucky girl!
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38 Carinne
September 6, 2012 at 3:55 AM
Okay, first, I was like KSH looks so adorkable there with the trademark "oppa piggyback your girl" moment.
Last but not least, I was all, I hope the girl strikes better luck by remembering to shave her legs. ;) LOL~
I say this show is rigged. KSH is a very lucky lad in life.
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