Fourth installment of ‘The Roundup’ series also hits 10-million-viewer mark

A still from Crime City 4. Courtesy of Avio Entertainment

The action film “The Roundup: Punishment,” starring Ma Dong-seok, attracted over 10 million viewers on May 15, the 22nd day of its release. This makes “The Roundup” series achieve the record of attracting some 10 million viewers three consecutive times, which is for the first time among Korean films.

Based on the integrated computer network of movie theater admission tickets, “The Roundup: Punishment” attracted more than 10 million viewers in total earlier in the day. Following previous installments, “The Roundup” and “The Roundup: No Way Out,” the new film also hit the 10-million-viewer mark in a row. So far, Marvel's "Avengers" series (“Age of Ultron," "Infinity War," and "Endgame") have been the only film series that attracted some 10 million viewers three consecutive times in domestic box office history.

“The Roundup: Punishment” surpassed the 10-million-viewer mark faster than its previous installments. “The Roundup” hit the mark on the 25th day of its release, and “The Roundup: No Way Out” on the 32nd day. Including “The Outlaws,” which was rated R, the total cumulative number of viewers of the series exceeds 40 million. The success of the fourth installment was a foregone conclusion. Most theaters in Korea filled almost every screen with the action film. Also, there were no other domestic or foreign films released around the same time to compete with it, reflecting the recent polarization of the film market into “success” or “failure” and a strong atmosphere not to compete with a film that is sure to make a huge success like “The Roundup” series. It seems that “The Roundup: Punishment” will continue to sweep the box office for the time being, and it will be interesting to see how many people will watch it.

Ma Dong-seok became the first actor in Korea to appear in six films that attracted more than 10 million moviegoers, including “Train to Busan” and “Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days.” Ma, who is also the leading actor and producer of the series, said it is planned for up to eight installments. The fifth installment is scheduled to be released in 2026.

“The Roundup: Punishment” is the second film to surpass the 10-million-viewer mark this year, following Jang Jae-hyun's “Exhuma.” Of the films that have been released in Korea so far, a total of 33 films have hit the 10-million-viewer mark, including 24 Korean films.

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.