The movie “The First Slam Dunk,” has reached 3 million in ticket sales in Korea as of Thursday according to the distributor.

The movie is a cinematic adaption of the popular Japanese basketball manga “Slam Dunk” (1990-96), focusing on the stories that have not been discussed in detail in the original. The film was written and directed by Takehiko Inoue, the writer of the original manga series.

“The First Slam Dunk,” was released in Korean theatres on Jan. 4, a month after it hit Japanese theaters. Since its release, it has remained at the top spot of the Korean box office for 13 consecutive days and became the first film to surpass 1 million cumulative ticket sales in Korea in 2023 as of last Friday.

With the rising popularity of the film, the original manga and other related merchandise has also witnessed popularity around the country. Each “Slam Dunk” manga landed in the top three to top 20th place on online bookstore YES24’s weekly bestseller rank last week, selling one million copies total by Tuesday.

BY CHO YONG-JUN [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]