The 10 most-watched Korean films ever, as The King’s Warden draws nearly 15 million film-goers
Can The King’s Warden overtake The Admiral: Roaring Currents and Extreme Job to become the most-viewed South Korean film of all time?
Since the pandemic, the once-mighty South Korean film industry has struggled to return to its former glory. The year 2025 proved particularly trying, as it failed to produce a large-scale breakout capable of reminding audiences what they were missing.
That dry spell finally came to a decisive end over the past few weeks, thanks to the staggering success of the Lunar New Year holiday title The King’s Warden, a broadly appealing period drama that continues to defy expectations on its record-breaking run.
With more than 140 billion won (US$93 million) in box office sales and some fuel still left in the tank, the film is already the highest-grossing Korean release of all time. However, South Korea typically ranks its blockbusters by number of tickets sold, a metric impervious to inflation.
Now on the cusp of 15 million viewers, The King’s Warden is rapidly scaling that chart, too. As we wait to see where it eventually lands, we look back at the top 10 most-viewed Korean films of all time, by admissions.
10. Miracle in Cell No 7 (2013)
Total admissions: 12.81 million