According to Koreaboo, the Korean movie “Dark Nuns” had its first special screenings for audiences on January 21, before officially hitting theaters on January 24.
“Dark Nuns” is expected to boost box office revenue, as this film marks the return of star Song Hye Kyo to Korean cinema after 11 years. It also features the participation of actors recognized for their acting abilities such as Jeon Yeo Been, Lee Jin Wook, Moon Woo Jin.
However, after the premiere, "Dark Nuns" unexpectedly received many mixed and negative opinions from Korean audiences.
Some viewers wrote movie reviews on the X platform (or Twitter). These posts quickly attracted attention when they were shared on the online community Theqoo, attracting tens of thousands of views and hundreds of comments.
One review highlighted two issues in “Dark Nuns” that made them uncomfortable, focusing specifically on the controversial content and the director’s approach.
“Dark Nuns” was expected to be an exciting addition to the horror and mystery genre that has emerged in recent years in Korea. Instead, it was criticized for its poor and flawed script.
According to the review, the director failed to convey a coherent story, leaving viewers disappointed with what was described as a "pathetic" plot.
At the press conference, the director himself admitted that the plot still had many shortcomings, and he had to take responsibility for this.
The review also pointed out that the film uses too many and repetitive sensitive, offensive, and misogynistic phrases.
Negative reactions to “Dark Nuns” continue to be widespread, with many netizens declaring that they will not be buying tickets to see the film. Others have called it a “waste of money” after reading critical reviews.
The topic "Korean netizens boycott Song Hye Kyo's new movie" even climbed to the top of the hot search (search trend) on Chinese social network Weibo.
However, besides the mixed opinions, some netizens said that it is too early to draw conclusions about the quality of the film. Because there are only a few reviews from early viewers. We need to wait until January 24 to consider more objective reviews.
According to data from the Korean Film Council, as of January 21, “Dark Nuns” topped the domestic box office in terms of pre-booked audience ratio, accounting for 36.7% with 123,704 tickets.
On the first day of early screening (January 21), the film attracted 8,738 viewers, ranking second in daily box office revenue, just behind "Harbin".
“Dark Nuns” is a female version of the 2015 blockbuster film “The Priests.” The film tells the story of nuns who perform a forbidden ritual to save a young boy possessed by a powerful evil spirit.
