Will the movie 'Zombie Daughter', released on the 30th of last month, continue its box office success this weekend?
According to the integrated cinema admission statistics network from the Korean Film Council, 'Zombie Daughter' drew 240,000 viewers in just one day, securing the top spot at the box office. The cumulative viewer count stands at 703,010.
The film is expected to easily reach its break-even point of 2.2 million viewers by this weekend, thanks to favorable conditions such as summer vacation, heatwave, and government-subsidized movie viewing discount coupons. 'Zombie Daughter', which has emerged as a turnaround card in the stagnant theater market, is based on the popular Naver webtoon of the same name by writer Lee Yun-chang. The story centers around a devoted father, Jeong-hwan (played by Jo Jung-seok), who engages in secret training to protect his daughter Sua (played by Choi Yu-ri) after she becomes the last remaining zombie in the world.
The movie successfully captures the charm of the original webtoon, winning the love of its fans.
First of all, the mascot of 'Zombie Daughter', Aeyong, stirred up buzz even before the movie's release. Aeyong, who gained immense popularity in the original webtoon and was released as an emoticon, is the pet cat of Jeong-hwan and Sua in the story. The webtoon version of Aeyong showcases a chic persona and human-like traits, which brought laughter to readers; these elements were also reflected in the movie. The production team reportedly went nationwide to find a cheese tabby cat resembling Aeyong and conducted auditions to ensure authenticity. As a result, many scenes that were originally planned to be CGI were transformed into live-action, allowing viewers to meet Aeyong as if it had jumped out of the original work.
Additionally, the perfect synchronization between the actors and their characters played a significant role. The most talked-about character is Jeong-hwan's mother and Sua's grandmother, Bamsun. Lee Jung-eun perfectly embodied the role of Bamsun, creating a character that's even more webtoon-like than in the original.
Another aspect that satisfies original fans is the unique humor code characteristic of writer Lee Yun-chang, which readers consider one of the film's greatest charms. Gags such as pretending to be a zombie to escape, or discovering that a zombie was actually a grandmother with dentures, combined with the stellar performances of actors like Jo Jung-seok, added considerable value to the film. Furthermore, Jeong-hwan's friend Dong-bae (played by Yoon Kyung-ho) and his first love Yeon-hwa (played by Jo Yeo-jung) successfully integrated the original webtoon's humor into the film, receiving positive feedback.
'Zombie Daughter' is, quite literally, a film created as a bible of the original work. This stands in stark contrast to the web novel adaptation 'All-Seeing Reader', which was released a week earlier.
Of course, there are unavoidable differences concerning webtoons and web novels, original content volume, and genre. However, it seems essential to clarify whether to attract original fans or to risk their discontent and target the general audience. Especially for 'thriller' genres like 'All-Seeing Reader'. While 'All-Seeing Reader', which had a staggering production cost of 30 billion won, has a break-even point of 6 million viewers, its current cumulative viewer count is only about 850,000, indicating a long road ahead.
'Zombie Daughter' has gained popularity by boasting a close synchronization with the original, while 'All-Seeing Reader' is experiencing disappointing scores due to its divergent path from the original. Meanwhile, 'Zombie Daughter' has taken advantage of opportunities offered by days when culture is celebrated, as well as government-supported movie viewing discount coupons, successfully achieving film adaptation while gaining the love of original fans.