Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula opened in several international markets last weekend, and the sequel to 2016’s horror hit Train to Busan was an immediate success.
The zombie sequel grossed nearly $21 million in five key markets–including its home base of Korea–energizing international box offices that have suffered through the COVID-19 crisis this year, as reported by movieweb.com.
The bottom line for these international markets over the weekend was encouraging on all fronts. The movie raked in more than $13 million alone in Korea, outperforming another local film, Alive. In Taiwan, the sequel earned nearly $5 million, a number that represented 76 percent of the nation’s total box office take for the weekend. Additionally, the film made more than $1 million in Vietnam, nearly $1 million in Malaysia and $800,000 from theaters in Singapore.
Closer to home, Well Go USA picked up the North American rights for the film, with plans for a theatrical debut at the end of this month–dependent, of course, on the availability of theaters at that time. Peninsula also is slated to stream exclusively on Shudder in early 2021.
The sequel–directed by Yeon Sang-ho (who also helmed the original movie)–stars Gang Dong-won and Lee Yung-hyun. The storyline follows a soldier who escaped from the zombie-infested wasteland, only to be asked to lead a covert retrieval mission. Surprisingly, he and his team find a group of survivors, and all their lives will depend on whether human nature can prevail under the worst of circumstances.
The original Train to Busan–with a screenplay by Park Joo-suk–starred Gong Yoo, Yung Yu-mi and Ma Dong-sook. The film told the harrowing story of a train trip to Busan during a zombie apocalypse that threatened the terrified passengers.
The movie, which had its coming-out party at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, did far better than expected at the box office, grossing $98.5 million on a budget of just $8.5 million.
Keep reading Horror News Network for updates on the release of Peninsula on our shores.
