Yeon Sang Ho's "Train To Busan," a South Korean zombie apocalypse thriller starring Gong Yoo, Jung Yu-Mi, and Ma Dong-Seok, ruled the country's box office by pulling in more than $72.7 million. Now, major production houses in the United States and Europe are vying up to bag the remake rights of the smash-hit film.
"Train to Busan" has set another record in the industry, as the first Korean film to break the audience record with more than 10 million theatergoers. The film, who had its premiere in the Midnight Screenings section in the 69th Cannes Film Festival, grossed $72,140,810 million worldwide.
According to reports, bidders from Hollywood include 20th Century Fox and Sony Pictures, while interested production houses in France are Canal Plus, Gaumont, and EuropaCrop. It is said that the blockbuster film is exceptionally relevant to France, where trains are part of their day to day lives.
"Although no deal has yet been decided or signed, we're in talks with major studios and indie production houses in Hollywood and France that are highly interested in remaking the film," a source close to the negotiations told Variety.
The source added that deals may be finalized later this month. "Train to Busan" follows Seok-Woo (Gong Yoo), his estranged daughter and other passengers who were trapped on a speeding KTX train after a disastrous unidentified virus hits South Korea.
The blockbuster film was produced by Lee Dong-Ha and features a stellar cast of South Korean actors such as Kim Soo-Ahn, Kim Eui-Sung, Choi Woo-Sik, Ahn So-Hee, Shim Eun-Kyung, Jung Suk-Yong, Ye Soo-Jung, Park Myung-Shin and Jang Hyuk-Jin, among others.
"Even imagining reaching 10 million is terrifying," Soompi quoted Gong Yoo as saying before a group of local reporters. "I would be happy with five million. Even five million would be my highest score ever."
In other news, the "Coffee Prince" actor will make his comeback drama in tvN's "Goblin" (working title). The forthcoming drama comes from screenwriter Kim Eun Sok, who brought the hit TV series, "Descendants of the Sun" and "The Heirs."
tvN's "Goblin" recounts the strange-peculiar kinship of the Grim Reaper and Dokkaebi (Gong), who help dead souls go through the afterlife. More details about the project will be revealed soon.
Check out "Train to Busan" trailer below: