Horror comedy film “Handsome Guys,” starring Lee Sung-min and Lee Hee-jun, topped the Vietnamese box office within a week of its premiere in the country, its distributor Next Entertainment World (NEW) said Friday.

The film, initially released on June 26 in Korea, premiered in Vietnam on Aug. 9 and started off sitting at No. 3 on the Vietnamese box office with a 13 percent seat occupancy rate upon its release, according to NEW.


The rate gradually grew, standing at 17 percent on Aug. 10 and 20.5 percent on Aug. 11, before landing at No. 1 at the Vietnamese box office on Aug. 14.

“The box office success can be attributed to the high level of satisfaction among local Vietnamese audiences, with the unique combination of horror and comedy receiving overwhelming praise,” the movie's distributor said in a press release.

“Handsome Guys,” directed by Nam Dong-hyub, revolves around carpenters Jae-pil and Sang-gu who purchase a mountain cabin where unexpected and mysterious incidents keep occurring. The film features actors Lee Sung-min, Lee Hee-jun, Gong Seung-yeon, Park Ji-hwan and Lee Kyoo-hyung.

The film garnered more than 1.77 million moviegoers since its Korean premiere and currently sits at No. 5 on this year’s Korean film box office.


BY KIM JI-YE [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]