It wasn’t a typical moviegoing weekend for South Korea. The film The Assassin(s) arrived in South Korean theaters on September 23, on the eve of the period of Chuseok, one of the most important holidays in the Korean calendar and traditionally one of the strongest moments of the year for domestic cinema. In 2026 the holiday period stretched over four days, from Thursday to Sunday, turning the weekend into one of the main testing grounds of the film season.
The victory was decisively claimed by Hur Jin-ho’s new film. In the long weekend from Friday 25 to Sunday 27 September, The Assassin(s), whose original title is 암살자(들), drew about 1.2 million spectators, while considering the entire Chuseok holiday period the tally rises to 1.4 million. By the end of Sunday, five days after release, the total had reached 1.56 million admissions. In terms of gross, the film accumulated about $11.4 million, capturing 40.6% of the entire national box office.
The lead over rivals was substantial. During the four days of Chuseok, The Assassin(s) drew around twice the number of viewers of Tazza: The Song of Beelzebub, the fourth chapter of a popular Korean saga not released here, which stalled at about 710,000 attendances. Next in the weekend box office are Odyssey, the South Korean comedy The Intern, Possible Love which won the Venice Jury Grand Prize, the notable horror Obsession, the re-release of Avengers: Endgame and the new Resident Evil.
The Assassin(s): Plot and Teaser Trailer for the Film
Domestic success arrives right after a major international showcase. The Assassin(s) indeed celebrated its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival 2026, where it was selected in the prestigious Gala Presentations section.
The Assassin(s) draws inspiration from one of the most dramatic episodes in modern South Korean history, namely the attempt to assassinate President Park Chung-hee during the Liberation Day ceremony on August 15, 1974. Instead of offering a simple historical reconstruction, the film uses the structure of a mystery thriller to question the dark corners surrounding the case. At the center of the story are the detective Cheol-gu, played by Yoo Hae-jin, the crime reporter Jae-hwan, played by Park Hae-il, and the young reporter Young-il, portrayed by Lee Min-ho. The three try to reconstruct what actually happened, confronting missing evidence, contradictory versions, and the pressures exerted on the press in 1970s Korea.
Here is the teaser trailer for The Assassin(s).
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