One day before release, Na Hong-jin’s new sci-fi film Hope is already dominating the box office conversation, setting the biggest advance ticket sales of the year and sending hype through the roof.
According to the Korean Film Council’s real-time box office system on the 14th, Hope has surpassed 500,000 advance tickets, with a current real-time booking share of 65.8%—the highest for any 2026 release so far.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, only a few Korean films have blown past 500,000 in advance ticket sales: The Roundup: Punishment and The Roundup: No Way Out. Hope is now the third, fueling expectations that it could join the elite 10-million admissions club.
Hope follows Beom-seok (played by Hwang Jung-min), the head of the Hopohang outpost located in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). When local youths report a tiger sighting, the entire village goes on high alert—setting off a chain of shocking events.
The film’s star-studded cast—Hwang Jung-min, Jo In-sung, Jung Ho-yeon, Taylor Russell, Cameron Britton, Alicia Vikander, and Michael Fassbender—has already turned heads. It was invited to compete at the 79th Cannes Film Festival, where its original 3D-rendered creature and commanding sci-fi thriller direction drew major acclaim.
Meanwhile, Hope hits theaters on the 15th, fully primed to meet audiences.