SEOUL – Effects-heavy monster movie "D-War" has grossed a jaw-dropping $20.3 million in South Korea in its first five days, according to distributor Showbox.

Cume to Sunday of 2.95 million admissions just narrowly missed breaking the opening week record of 3.17 million admissions set by Showbox release "The Host" a year ago. "D-War" is currently playing on 689 screens, up from 503 on Wednesday.

Pic has set off a virtual culture war in Korea, with fervant fans waging an internet battle against critics and other viewers who panned the film. English-lingo feature about a giant snake that smashes up Los Angeles will open in the U.S. on September 14 through Freestyle Releasing under the name "Dragon Wars".

Attention is now being focused on whether mega-budgeted film will actually turn a profit. Budget is cited as $33 million, not including the procural and operation of f/x equipment and screenplay development costs which reportedly push budget to $75 million. Rumors have abounded that distributor Showbox has virtually staked its future on the film's success.

Meanwhile, rival distributor CJ Entertainment has been enjoying a more modest success with "May 18", based on a real life civilian massacre in 1980. Pic passed the $20 million mark on Saturday, in its 11th day on release, and continues to perform well on 539 prints.

The local industry is greeting the two films' success as a welcome respite from a year filled with box-office disappointments. Korean cinema's market share for the year to date stands at 42.9%, which is the lowest level since 2001.

© Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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