All hail the power of dad! In just one month the South Korean box office has produced one of the biggest domestic box office hits with Ode to My Father, coming so soon after last year’s runaway victor The Admiral: Roaring Currents. The movie has raked in over $80 million US dollars in South Korea and topping the box office in each of the five weeks it’s been airing. There is still a long ways to go to catch The Admiral’s $135 million total but Father’s $80 mil/5 weeks alone is just insane! Thanks to Father’s pan-appeal to family sacrifice and plumbing South Korean history, the spate of highly anticipated youngster-led movies that was released during the year end holiday season all fizzled to varying degrees. The Royal Tailor with Han Suk Kyu, Go Soo, Park Shin Hye, and Yoo Yeon Seok was a royal bomb, premiering at number 5 at the box office before dropping to 9 in the second week and then disappearing off the charts. Then came The Con Artists with Kim Woo Bin which fared a little better against Father but still has under-performed against expectations. Up now is Love Forecast with Lee Seung Gi and Moon Chae Won followed by Gangnam 1970 with Lee Min Ho and Kim Rae Won. Continue reading →