Kang Ha-neul andd Cha Eun-woo’s buddy comedy “The First Ride” (dir. Nam Dae-joong) opened at No. 1 at the Korean box office.
According to the Korean Film Council’s KOBIS database on Oct. 30, “The First Ride” drew 82,687 moviegoers on its Oct. 29 opening day, debuting atop the chart and bumping Japan’s “Chainsaw Man: The Movie - Reze Arc” from its three-week reign.
The launch outpaced “The Firefighters” (81,673 opening-day admissions; 3.85 million total) and came in just behind Kang’s recent hit “Yadang: The Snitch,” which opened to 85,705 and has amassed 3.37 million admissions to rank No. 2 among 2025 Korean films.
“The First Ride” follows a riotous crew of ride-or-die friends finally taking their first trip abroad: the relentless Tae-jung (Kang Ha-neul), sunny optimist Do-jin (Kim Young-kwang), heartthrob Yeon-min (Cha Eun-woo), perpetually drowsy Geum-bok (Kang Young-seok), and sweetheart Ok-sim (Han Sun-hwa). The ensemble also features Choi Gwi-hwa, Yoon Kyung-ho and Go Kyu-pil, leaning into broad, crowd-pleasing comedy.
With Japanese animation dominating local charts for weeks, the strong start for a homegrown crowd-pleaser has industry watchers eyeing how long “The First Ride” can keep its momentum.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kim Ji-hye)