All others were found wanting this past weekend as Yang Woo-seok’s “The Attorney” put up a feverish 1.3M (45.2%) admissions ahead of the Christmas celebrations. Last week Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” was the flickering favourite, but the epic feature conceded defeat here as Yang’s star-struck local drama ensured the year ended on a local high. The other domestic disturbances were Lee Hyeon-jong’s racy romance “Catch Me”, and an early favouring of Gong Yoo’s first action outing: “The Suspect”.

The second instalment of Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit” added 381,794 (13.2%) to its new bottom line of 1.6M ($12M); less than half of what it smuggled in last weekend and now skulks into second after Yang’s attractive opening act. “The Attorney” outplayed Mr. B. Baggins and his adventuring entourage with a talented team of its own, employing the powerful prestige of this year’s gold-fingered Song Kang-ho (who has already steered two showstoppers to glory: the French-born “Snowpiercer” and the dynastic “The Face Reader”), alongside further gems in Kim Yeong-ae (“Confession of Murder”), Oh Dal-soo(“Miracle in Cell No.7") and Kwak Do-won (“A Company Man”). “The Attorney” follows a civil rights lawyer through a landmark human rights case during Korea’s tumultuous 1980s; a perhaps strange Christmas flick, but one that Korean audiences have lavishly lapped up in week one.

The British romantic comedy “About Time” by Richard Curtis kept the box office alive with love at three, scoring 338,699 (11.4%) admissions as it surpassed the 2 million admissions mark. At number four, and down two places, came actress-director Bang Eun-jin’s fourth feature: “Way Back Home”. Bang’s family drama cleared 275,822 (8.8%) and has now amassed $9.4M since its release on the eleventh. “Way Back Home” (formerly known as “The Way Home — 2013" here on HanCinema) stars Jeon Do-yeon and Ko Soo, Choi Min-cheol, along with the adorable youngster Kang Ji-woo.

Lee Hyeon-jong’s playful romantic comedy “Catch Me” was also released last week, it was rewarded with 210,784 (6.5%) in support from the pre-Christmas crowds. That score was higher than the 187,907 (6.7%) “Walking with Dinosaurs 3D” put forth, but the latter’s 3D expense meant that the prehistoric re-imagining staggered away with more Benjamin’s in its belly. Disney Picture’s high-flying “Planes” came into the fray as well, clearing 90,496 (2.9%) for seventh and staying ahead of another computer-animated effort: “Saving Santa” (81,134 — 2.3%) by directors Tony Nottage and Leon Joosen. Less seasoned was James Wan’s “Insidious: Chapter 2" in ninth with 19,671 (0.6%); a precious little horror that was stalked byWon Sin-yeon’s spy-thriller “The Suspect” (10,454 — 0.3%). “The Suspect” is Gong Yoo’s first action role, and although the film is only scheduled to arrive this coming week, it did managed to find some promising support ahead of its official Christmas Eve release.

What’s coming out next week in Korea? → [HanCinema’s Film News] New Korean Films Inbound…

Last Weekend’s Report: [HanCinema’s Box Office Review] 2013.12.13 — 2013.12.15

Korean Box Office — Admissions for the Weekend 2013.12.20 — 2013.12.22 (www.kobis.or.kr)

- C.J. Wheeler (chriscjw@gmail.com; @KoreaOnTheCouch)