'Tazza 2' holds on to No. 1 for 2nd week in a row

Choi Seung-hyeon, better known as T.O.P. from K-pop band Big Bang, plays the main character, Dae-gil, in the movie "Tazza: The High Rollers 2". The Korean movie took the top spot in the domestic box office last weekend. Provided by Lotte Entertainment

"Tazza: The High Rollers 2", which opened last month, took the No. 1 spot for the second consecutive week, according to the Korean Film Council yesterday. Over the weekend, it garnered an audience of 540,529, pushing the film's total ticket sales to 3,107,413.

In second place was "Once" director John Carney's music drama "Begin Again", moving two notches up from last week's fourth. Its long-lasting grip on the box office is owed to its easygoing soundtrack and the appearance of actors like Keira Knightley and Adam Levine, who are well known in Korea. It sold 351,523 tickets, adding to its four-week total of 1,862,520.

Disaster flick "Into the Storm", which opened in 4-D, landed in third place. It dragged 225,121 moviegoers to the cinema over the weekend.

Scarlett Johansson's "Lucy", which tackles the premise that humans only use 10 percent of their brains, came in fourth. Directed by famed filmmaker Luc Besson, it features Korean actorChoi Min-sikas a notorious mob boss. "Lucy" collected 225,063 tickets to bring its two-week total to 1,795,522.

Comedy-filled costume movie"Pirates", starringSon Ye-jinandKim Nam-gil, was in fifth place. It garnered 205,439 cinemagoers, pulling its five-week total up to 8,362,217.

"My Brilliant Life", based onKim Ae-ran's eponymous novel from 2011, ranked sixth with 194,269 tickets sold while the fourth installment of the street-dance "Step Up" series, titled "Step Up: All In", came in seventh with 95,684.

Record-breaking period film"The Admiral: Roaring Currents", about Adm. Yi Sun-sin, finished off in eighth place. In the seven weeks since it opened, the film has amassed an audience of nearly 18 million.

Black-and-white crime film "Sin City: A Dame to Kill For", featuring a stellar cast including Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Eva Green, Jessica Alba and Bruce Willis, debuted in 10th place with 45,246 tickets sold.

BY JIN EUN-SOO [[email protected]]