『[Drug Dealer] Premieres Today (28th) After Ranking #1 in Advance Ticket Sales — Will It Open a New Chapter in the Box Office History of R-Rated Films?』
『Drug Dealer, a crime action film that pushes past the limits of R-rated cinema, sends audiences into a frenzy after taking first place in reservations』
『[Movie Talk] Drug Dealer records the highest reservation rate — a fresh beginning for R-rated films』
Despite being an R-rated film, the momentum behind Drug Dealer was startling. The fact that it had taken first place in advance ticket sales the moment it opened was already shocking enough, and that momentum was visible from the very first morning screenings held in theaters across the country, where noticeably larger crowds than usual had gathered.
[@hhhos]
[LOL I went to see Drug Dealer this morning and was shocked by how many people were there lol Usually a morning screening has like ten people at most, but I think there were over fifty people in mine lol]
Maybe that was why.
As the morning passed into early afternoon and the daytime screenings of Drug Dealer rolled on, audience participation in reviews and ratings rose sharply. Even netizens who had not watched the film yet began joining in, and the shift was immediate.
[Drug Dealer / Released October 28, 2020]
[Rating: 9.5]
[Viewer · Netizen Reviews / 408 participants]
[Review Summary: Kang Woojin / 5 stars]
[- Hmm, should I? It's not not fun—just kidding lol! It's seriously good, so everyone go watch it! Oh, and make sure you bring extra underwear with you! / g****]
[- It got a little boring, but I gave it 5 stars because of the actors' performances / 2 stars]
[- Fuck lol Kang Woojin alone deserves 10 stars lol / p****]
[- Drugs are seriously disgusting;;;; / a****]
[- Kang Woojin really is a treasure of the acting world. How does he give off a completely different vibe every single time? / 7****]
[- It's fun at first, drags a little, but from the middle to the second half it's absolutely worth watching / ****]
[- Honestly, I went because I'm a Jin Jaejun fan… but Kang Woojin's acting really shocked me… He's a rookie actor with an insane range / c****]
[- It was really fun, and Lee Sangman played such an important role as the joker. Without him, it would've felt flat. / 1 star]
[- Kang Woojin's entrance scene went hard / v****]
[- I went to see it after watching Boy Friend, and the contrast with Kang Woojin's drug scene was so shocking… / b****]
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But for Drug Dealer, this was only the beginning.
Even now, many people were either sitting in theaters watching Drug Dealer or on their way to see it. That included not just the general public, but people close to Kang Woojin as well. Among them, the most visibly invested were the members of his fan club.
"Hyuna, take the picture properly so the billboard shows clearly!"
"Okay! Ah, but it's kind of a shame oppa's face isn't on the billboard."
"That's probably because it's a cameo appearance."
Kang Hyuna, Kang Woojin's younger sister and the president of the fan club Kang's Heart, was there with her friends, who also worked as part of the fan club staff. Naturally, the members of Kang's Heart were all the same familiar faces. Kang Woojin's fan café was already overflowing with proof posts and photos.
In any case, once Kang Hyuna and her friends actually started watching Drug Dealer, they were completely absorbed.
"Wow, seriously… that's our oppa??"
"He transformed again! Looking at that acting, anyone would think he's a completely different person!"
"Wow, he's so cool. Why am I more drawn to Lee Sangman than Han Inho?!"
The character Lee Sangman had turned out to be even better than expected. And after the movie ended, the audience kept talking about it excitedly.
"No way, seriously! Wow! He looks like Woojin oppa, but at the same time he doesn't! Right?"
"Exactly! After seeing Han Inho, Lee Sangman feels even more intense and unforgettable!"
"Han Inho felt warm, but Lee Sangman was completely cold… It really feels like Woojin oppa just takes total control of every role."
"I was so sad when Mr. Lee died! Inside, I was screaming, 'Bring him back!'"
That atmosphere spread across the country almost at the same time. Naturally, as time passed—especially as evening rush hour approached—the number of viewers increased exponentially. And it was not just ticket sales. Articles, related videos, SNS posts, reviews, and every kind of comment rose with it.
『What are real audiences saying about Drug Dealer? Jin Jaejun's solid presence and Kang Woojin's joker performance』
Word of mouth had begun to spread.
[- lol The moment Drug Dealer came out, a gallery got made for it lol]
[- I haven't seen it yet, but is Drug Dealer actually worth watching?]
[- It's seriously fun!! Watch it twice—no, three times.]
[- Just came back from the movie. It was good. Ask me anything.]
[- The movie was crap, so why is everyone exaggerating? Of course I haven't seen it yet.]
[- For an adult-rated movie to be number one in reservations, that's insane.]
A strange wave was beginning to form.
[- lol I just watched Drug Dealer and the theater was packed (photo attached)]
And that wave was swelling into something like a tsunami.
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Early the next morning, the 29th.
In Da Nang, Vietnam.
It was around eight in the morning. While Drug Dealer was causing a huge stir back in Korea, one of its lead actors, Kang Woojin, had just woken up. He was staying at a luxury hotel in Da Nang, and inside the elevator, he ran into Choi Sunggeon.
"······"
With his cap pulled low, Kang Woojin stared solemnly at the changing floor numbers. The expression on his face was a mixture of staying in character and genuine fatigue.
'I'm so tired. I need to eat more and rest more in the void space.'
The filming for Island of the Missing was relentless, like a marathon with no finish line in sight. It almost felt like guerrilla warfare. They would head out to the set in the morning, pull back, start filming again in the late afternoon, wait, and then head back out again at night. Because the shooting schedule was so tight, it was rare for all the actors to appear together in the same scene.
On top of that, Hong Hyeyeon, who had come to Da Nang with Woojin for a cameo appearance, had only managed to film two scenes over several days. Even so, she could not complain. Overseas location shoots were usually like this, and compared to domestic filming, the schedule had to be run far more tightly.
"It's the staff who keep working the entire time while the actors wait around, so complaining in that situation would be seriously thoughtless."
Woojin muttered that to himself. Compared to the staff, the actors actually had it easier. Even at this very moment, the crew were already running around frantically.
Soon enough—
Ding!
The elevator doors opened onto the first floor, and Kang Woojin and Choi Sunggeon stepped out into the hotel lobby. Woojin's shoot was scheduled for late lunch that day, so the two of them were on their way to have breakfast at the hotel restaurant.
And then—
"Kang-star??"
Choi Sunggeon, who had been quietly looking at his phone, suddenly broke into a wide grin and called out to Woojin.
"The response to Drug Dealer is really good. Did you check it?"
Of course he had. The moment he woke up, Woojin had already read through dozens of articles to check the reaction. Still, with the same blank face as ever, he answered in a low voice.
"I haven't looked it up yet."
Choi Sunggeon immediately held out his phone.
"It's crazy. Completely insane. I was a little worried because it was an R-rated film, but that turned out to be pointless. Ah, I'm getting another call. It just keeps ringing."
"Go ahead and take it. I'll head to the restaurant first."
"Alright, alright! Yes, this is Choi Sunggeon speaking."
He stopped walking to answer the call. His phone was always busy, but since Drug Dealer had opened, the number of calls seemed to have multiplied several times over.
Naturally—
Bzzz.
Kang Woojin's phone was no exception.
[Hong Hyeyeon: You're awake, right? Aren't you coming down for breakfast?]
Once people found out he was filming, calls had given way to a flood of texts instead.
[Daeyoung: Hey, let's go grab breakfast]
From the group chat with his close friends, to a message from Kang Hyuna, to contact from all sorts of people. Out of all of them, Woojin decided to reply to Hong Hyeyeon first, telling her he was already at the restaurant and that she should come down.
A few minutes later.
With a white plate piled high with scrambled eggs, sausages, bread, and more, Kang Woojin took a seat at a table. As expected of a luxury hotel, the restaurant was spacious, and many people were already enjoying breakfast.
'I never imagined I'd ever stay at a hotel like this for the rest of my life. Seriously… this is a pretty special experience.'
He wore a satisfied little smile inside as he calmly reached for his fork.
That was when a woman's voice came from in front of him.
"You don't need coffee?"
Hong Hyeyeon was walking over. Her long hair was tied back, and her makeup was so light it almost looked natural. Her loose T-shirt hung all the way down to her thighs.
And the funny part was—
'Huh?? What is this?! Where are her pants??'
That was Woojin's very first reaction when he saw what she was wearing. But once he realized she was wearing short shorts hidden beneath the oversized T-shirt, he quickly regained his composure. Thanks to that, he was able to keep his usual tone.
"I drink coffee after the meal."
"Oh, really? I like having it while I eat."
Hong Hyeyeon laughed lightly, sat down across from him, crossed her long legs, rested her chin on one hand, and met his eyes.
"First of all, congratulations. Right?"
"For what?"
"Drug Dealer. Don't you feel it? The reactions are already pouring in."
"Are they?"
"Are you pretending not to know? You sound pretty confident. There were all kinds of issues before Drug Dealer opened, but I still think it'll sell at least three million tickets. What do you think?"
"I'm not sure."
"So you're saying it'll go over three million?"
'No, I really don't know.'
But wasn't three million already amazing for an R-rated movie? Woojin had already heard a few things about that from Choi Sunggeon. R-rated films naturally had a ceiling when it came to audience numbers. Hong Hyeyeon seemed to know that too, because she simply shrugged.
"Mm, if it goes over three million, that'd already be impressive. Isn't the top box office record for an R-rated film around seven million? Has the result been announced yet?"
"I don't think it's time to talk like that yet."
"Uh… well, anyway, once we finish filming here, I'm going straight back to Korea to watch it."
At that exact moment—
Clack.
Someone placed a white plate beside Kang Woojin and Hong Hyeyeon.
Hong Hyeyeon flinched. Woojin was slightly startled too, but as he turned his head, he forced himself to stay calm.
'Who is this?'
A strange man was standing there. He wore a linen short-sleeved shirt, shorts, slippers, a safari hat, and even sunglasses. It was a truly unusual sight. Was he a tourist? Or a local Vietnamese man? Judging by the deep wrinkles on his face, he looked fairly old.
Right now, Woojin—
Swish.
Kang Woojin rose from his seat and stepped in front of Hong Hyeyeon with one arm slightly out, shielding her. Hong Hyeyeon stared up at him, eyes wide, and preparing for any possible situation, Woojin addressed the man in English rather than Korean.
"Who are you? Sorry, but someone is sitting here. Please step back."
His English came out smoothly, but the strange man showed no reaction at all.
"······"
Because of the sunglasses, it was hard to tell exactly where he was looking, but it felt as though his eyes were fixed on Woojin.
At that moment, Woojin sensed it.
'This guy's not normal.'
Something about the man gave off the unmistakable impression that he was not quite right.
So Woojin spoke again in English, colder this time, his gaze sharper than usual.
"If you heard me, please leave. Otherwise, I'll call security."
Only then—
"······Your English is very natural."
The man finally spoke, and he did so in Korean, with an old man's voice. His gaze shifted from Kang Woojin to the seated Hong Hyeyeon.
"It's been a long time. You… seem to be aging backwards. You look younger."
At that, Hong Hyeyeon narrowed her eyes in confusion. The voice felt familiar.
Slowly, the man removed his sunglasses and safari hat, revealing short white hair and a face lined with wrinkles. He had the unmistakable air of a veteran.
And then—
"A-Ah!!"
Bang!
Hong Hyeyeon shot up from her seat with a startled cry, her eyes wide.
Meanwhile, the old man leisurely placed his sunglasses and hat on the table and met Kang Woojin's gaze with complete ease.
"My apologies. I saw the two of you from outside and hurried over."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Director Ahn Gabok."
'Who??? Director Ahn Gabok? No, what is with this old man? Wait—Director Ahn Gabok is standing right in front of me?'
While Woojin panicked inwardly, Hong Hyeyeon, still staring with widened eyes, voiced the thought that had burst out of her.
"Di-Director?? What are you doing here?"
Director Ahn Gabok, still in slippers, answered comfortably.
"Me? A vacation, of course. I'm here on vacation."
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Meanwhile, in Seoul, Korea—
The location was the large conference room of the production company behind Drug Dealer. A large U-shaped table dominated the room, and among the familiar faces was Director Kim Dohee, known for her curly hair. Employees from the production company and the distributor were also present, around a dozen people in total.
One of them sat in front of a white laptop.
"Whew… alright, I'm checking now."
A male employee from the distribution company let out a deep breath and began typing on the keyboard, apparently searching for something.
Because of that—
"······"
Not only Director Kim Dohee, but all twelve people in the room turned their attention toward the employee at the laptop.
Soon, a website opened on the screen.
-[KOPIC: Korean Film Council Ticket Integrated Network]
It was the official site where domestic box office results could be checked. In other words, this was where they could confirm the box office performance of Drug Dealer, which had opened the day before. More precisely, it was the place that revealed the box office status of the entire Korean film industry.
And then—
Click.
The employee pressed on the page, and the result appeared on the laptop screen.
[October 28, 2020 — Number of Admissions]
[Daily Domestic Box Office]
Drug Dealer / Release Date: October 28 / Audience: 250,949 / Screens: 1,002 / Total Audience: 250,949
Monster Priest / Release Date: October 28 / Audience: 88,543 / Screens: 998 / Total Audience: 88,543
Crazy Sunshine / Release Date: October 1 / Audience: 41,221 / Screens: 1,011 / Total Audience: 3,313,950
Nature of the Suspect / Release Date: September 23 / Audience: 10,991 / Screens: 881 / Total Audience: 2,001,453
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It was a complete, overwhelming solo domination by the R-rated film Drug Dealer.