Actress Jun Ji-hyun has achieved a meaningful milestone, with her first big-screen comeback in 10 years surpassing 5 million viewers.
The film COLONY reached the 5 million viewer mark just 24 days after its release. It is the second film released this year to surpass 5 million admissions, following The King's Warden.
Jun Ji-hyun is undoubtedly a key driver behind this box office success. In the film, she leads the narrative as Dr. Kwon Se-jeong, a biotechnology expert. Strictly speaking, COLONY is not a solo vehicle for Jun. It is an ensemble piece that showcases the power of a star-studded multi-casting, with Koo Kyohwan, Kim Shin-rok, Shin Hyun-been, and Ji Changwook all delivering standout performances.
Nevertheless, Jun served as the face and anchor of the film, acting as a reliable partner for director Yeon Sang-ho. Director Yeon expressed immense satisfaction with working with Jun and shared his desire to collaborate with her again on his next project. Jun, who has long declared herself a fan of director Yeon, has also verbally expressed her willingness to appear in any of his future works multiple times.
Reaching the 5 million mark for COLONY is a brilliant personal achievement for Jun. While she skyrocketed to stardom with the film My Sassy Girl (2001), she struggled to find major box office success in cinema for the following decade. However, she secured her first "10-million-viewer" blockbuster with The Thieves in 2012. She followed this up with The Berlin File, which drew over 7.16 million viewers, and achieved her second 10-million-viewer milestone with Assassination in 2015.
COLONY marks Jun's first film appearance in 10 years since Assassination. It was a project she chose after her recent television dramas, Jirisan (2021) and Tempest (2025), received mixed reviews. Her trust in director Yeon Sang-ho proved to be well-placed. With its spectacular visuals, COLONY successfully won over 5 million moviegoers.
Jun remains one of the very few actresses capable of leading a blockbuster film with a budget exceeding 10 billion won. While many actresses excel primarily in drama genres, Jun is a rare talent who can pull off intense, physical action sequences. Additionally, her solid status as a top star, built over more than 20 years since her debut, continues to exert immense power at the box office.
Regarding the driving force behind her unique positioning compared to other actresses, Jun shared, "I am grateful when people say I am an actress who fits blockbusters. I've been involved in various activities and projects since I was young. While it's a given that an actor must act well, I always tried to establish my own competitive edge. That's why I didn't hesitate to take on international offers when they came. I believe the experiences of challenging myself across different genres and action roles have accumulated to build my own unique spectrum. I think that's also why I was able to blend well into a zombie genre like this."
She also touched upon her responsibility as a commercial film actor, saying, "I feel a greater sense of responsibility when it comes to films. Audiences invest their hard-earned money and time to come and watch them. Because of that, I tend to choose films that I believe the audience would want to see."
With the success of COLONY, the industry's demand for Jun Ji-hyun is expected to grow even stronger. This box office triumph is also anticipated to boost her confidence in her own artistic vision and project selection.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kim Ji-hye)