News

With DC’s Superman soaring back into the global spotlight, it’s hard to imagine there’s room for superhero stories beyond capes and icons. Enter Kang Hyeong-cheol’s Hi-Five, a wildly original take that trades fame for freshness, serving up a quirky origin story and a cast whose sharp comedic timing makes the genre feel a lot fresher. Drawing inspiration from different human organs, the superpowers granted to our heroes, and even the villain—aren’t wildly far-fetched. But it’s the director’s clever execution and imaginative storytelling that elevate this concept into something truly engaging and fun.

Spoilers Ahead

What happens in the movie?

Park Wan-seo undergoes a heart transplant from a mysterious donor, marking the beginning of something far stranger than recovery. Her overprotective father, Park Jong-min, still haunted by the loss of his wife to a heart attack, pleads with Wan-seo to give up taekwondo...

Imagine a life-saving organ transplant came with a strange side effect: a superpower. That is the delightfully simple premise of Hi-Five, a film where each hero’s new ability is tied directly to the organ they received. A new heart grants superhuman strength, while a lung transplant provides the power of hurricane-force breath.

This playful approach to a well-worn genre is the signature of director Kang Hyeong-cheol, the filmmaker behind beloved Korean hits like Scandal Makers and Sunny. His focus has always been on heartfelt character comedy, and he brings that same sensibility here.

The story puts this newly-formed team of misfits against a villain born from the same miracle, a man who wants to steal their newfound gifts for his own sinister purpose. The result is a superhero film that happily sidesteps the grim, world-ending stakes of its contemporaries. It is a story that chooses small-scale fun and breezy...

Music Box Films debuts Venice prize winner Familiar Touch, a fresh take on the process of aging, at Film Forum in NYC ahead of limited national expansion. Written and directed by Sarah Friedland in her feature debut, it stars Tony-winning stage actress Kathleen Chalfant as Ruth, an older woman with dementia who enters an assisted living facility where she must contend with new faces, routines and surroundings as her own identities and desires shift.

Ruth resists identifying with her aging neighbors but connects with care workers there (Carolyn Michelle and Andy McQueen) and is drawn towards her son (H. Jon Benjamin), whom she mistakes for a suitor. A former cook, Ruth finds agency preparing meals in the facility kitchen. She slides into younger selves as she embraces the sensory experiences of the community’s activities and daily life. But when the reality of her situation sinks in, Ruth feels betrayed...

South Korea has not been very successful at the superhero movie, with the majority of the productions in the genre not registering so much as a blip at the box-office. While a few features, like “The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion” have managed to win critics and audiences over, most of them have largely been rejected by the moviegoers. Enter Kang Hyeong-cheol, hitmaker director of very enjoyable fares such as “Scandal Makers”, “Sunny” and “Swing Kids”, who tries his hand for success with this elusive genre upon his return to the big screen after eight years, a delay caused by the production’s star Yoo Ah-in‘s unfortunate entanglements with the law.

Hi-Five is released by WellGo USA

After the death of a mysterious, unknown man, six of his organs are transplanted into the bodies of different individuals, saving their lives. Unbeknownst to them, these organs did not only save their...

DreamWorks and Universal’s live-action “How to Train Your Dragon” launched in South Korea on June 6 and immediately took first place on the charts, dethroning local hit Hi-Five over the June 6-8 frame. According to the Korean Film Council’s ticketing network, the Viking adventure commanded a 31.2 percent real-time reservation share on opening morning, backed by more than 102,000 presold tickets. Industry watchers estimate the picture drew about 550,000 admissions across its debut weekend, setting it up for a possible 1.8–2 million-ticket run.

Pre-release momentum had been building for weeks: the film opened its international rollout in Korea two full weeks ahead of the U.S. launch, part of a schedule that began May 30 for overseas markets. Universal’s strategy echoes Disney’s staggered campaigns for recent remakes and gives Dragon a clear runway before Pixar’s Elio enters the global conversation. U.S. tracking suggests the picture could deliver an $80-100 million domestic opening,...

Local titles topped Hollywood tentpoles at the South Korea box office over the weekend with superhero feature Hi-Five ending a successful run at the top for Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.

Hi-Five took $2.6m from 380,330 admissions from May 30 to June 1, according to Kobis, the Korean Film Council’s box office tracking service. With previews, it now has a cume of $2.7m from 395,500 admissions.

After two weeks on top, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning added $2.66m from 370,876 for a total of $17.75m and 2.47 million admissions since its May 17 release. Although it took more revenue, Kobis ranks by admissions and...

South Korean audiences embraced homegrown content this weekend as “Hi-Five” debuted at No. 1, narrowly overtaking the reigning Hollywood champion in terms of admissions.

The new release earned $2.6 million from 380,334 admissions across 1,211 screens, capturing 32.36% of the nationwide revenue share, according to Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council. Directed by Kang Hyoung-chul, the film follows five ordinary people who develop superpowers after receiving organ transplants and form an unlikely team to fight a psychic who covets their powers.

Close on its heels in second place was “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning,” which added $2.67 million from 370,876 admissions, accounting for 33.18% of the weekend’s market share. Despite outgrossing “Hi-Five” slightly in pure box office, it was ranked second due to lower admissions. The Tom Cruise-led action thriller continues its successful run, with a cumulative total of $17.7 million from over 2.47 million admissions since its May 17 release.

Another local debut,...

Exclusive: South Korean superhero film Hi-Five has secured sales in the US and key territories across Asia ahead of its anticipated local release on May 30.

Seoul-based sales agent Contents Panda has closed deals for North America (Well Go USA), Japan (Klockworx), Taiwan (Movie Cloud), Hong Kong (Edko Films), Vietnam (Mockingbird Pictures), Indonesia (Pt Prima Cinema Multimedia), Southeast Asia (Purple Plan), Mongolia (The Filmbridge) and in-flight (Emphasis Video Entertainment).

Directed by Kang Hyoung-chul, the story follows five ordinary people who develop superpowers after receiving organ transplants and for a team called Hi-Five. But a cult leader who received a pancreas transplant...

Yoo Ah-In Returns To The Big Screen(Photo Credit –Facebook/Instagram)

Yoo Ah-In is yet again on the news and this time for making waves at the box office with his latest released movie, The Match, and for announcing his next project. Yes, the once controversial actor continues his streak of successes as he dropped the details of his second movie, titled Hi.5, post-scandal. For those who don’t know, Yoo was dragged into a major drug scandal. In 2023, he was indicted without detention for using various kinds of drugs, including propofol, and for getting sleeping pills under another person’s name.

The court sentenced him to 1 year in jail, 2 years of suspension, and a 2 million Krw fine. He was also asked to pay an additional fee of 1.54 million Krw, 80 hours of community service, and 40 hours of drug education. The case still awaits the Supreme Court’s decision. However, amid all this,...

Update, Monday, 3:35 Pm: Overseas actuals have been logged for Lucy, Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes, Hercules, Into The Storm, Tmnt, The Fault In Their Stars, If I Stay, 22 Jump Street, Sex Tape, Deliver Us From Evil, Boyhood, How To Train Your Dragon 2, Let’s Be Cops, Step Up: All In, As Above, So Below, Transformers: Age of Extinction, and Relatos Salvajes. Meanwhile, Warner Bros.’ Adam Sandler-Drew Barrymore rom com Blended flew past $80M abroad, a bonus considering the film flatlined stateside, next to the duo’s previous outings, with $46.3M. Total global stands at $126.3M. More to come. — Anthony D’Alessandro contributing with Monday actuals.

Related: ‘Guardians’ Tops Lowest Grossing Post-Labor Day Domestic Weekend Since 2000

Previous, Sunday, 4:15 Pm Pt: This weekend domestically is projected to be the lowest grossing of 2014, off 23% from a year ago. And yet, the international frame is...

2009 Blue Dragon Awards 2009 Blue Dragon Awards – Nominations: Nov. 14, 2009 2009 Blue Dragon Award Winners: Kbs Hall in Seoul on Dec. 2, 2009 ("*" denotes the winner in each category) Directed by Joon-ho Bong, Mother chronicles the fight of a middle-aged mother to clear the name of her son, accused of a vicious crime. Mother is South Korea’s submission for the 2010 best foreign language film Academy Awards. Best Film Take Off – Yong-hwa Kim Good Morning President – Jang Jin * Mother – Joon-ho Bong Thirst – Chan-wook Park Haeundae – Je-gyun Yun Best Director * Yong-hwa Kim – Take Off Jang Jin – Good Morning President Joon-ho Bong – Mother Chan-wook Park – Thirst Je-gyun Yun – Haeundae Best New Director * Hyeong-cheol Kang – Scandal Makers Keon-hong Park – Lifting [...]...