The Admiral: Roaring Currents

The Admiral: Roaring Currents
Directed by	Kim Han-min
Produced by	Kim Han-min
Written by	Jeon Chul-hong Kim Han-min
Starring	Choi Min-sik Ryu Seung-ryong
Music by	Kim Tae-seong
Cinematography	Kim Tae-seong
Edited by	Kim Chang-ju
Production company	Big Stone Pictures
Distributed by	CJ Entertainment
Release dates	July 30, 2014 (2014-07-30)
Running time	127 minutes
Country	South Korea
Language	Korean Japanese
Budget	US$18.6 million
Box office	US$135.9 million (internationally) US$2,589,811 (United States)

The Admiral: Roaring Currents (Hangul: 명량; RR: Myeongryang) is a 2014 South Korean film directed and co-written by Kim Han-min and starring Choi Min-sik.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]} It became the biggest film of all time at the South Korean box office, with more than 17 million admissions and the first local film to gross more than US$100 million.^{[8][9][10][11]}

Plot

The film revolves around the titular Battle of Myeongnyang circa 1597, regarded as one of legendary Joseon admiral Yi Sun-sin's most remarkable naval victories, in which he led the only 12 ships remaining in his command to a heroic victory against an invading Japanese fleet numbering 330 vessels.^[12]

Cast

• Choi Min-sik as Yi Sun-sin^[13][14]
• Ryu Seung-ryong as Kurushima Michifusa
• Cho Jin-woong as Wakisaka Yasuharu
• Kim Myung-gon as Tōdō Takatora
• Jin Goo as Lim Jun-young
• Lee Jung-hyun as Mrs. Jeong, Lim's wife
• Kwon Yul as Yi Hoe
• Lee Seung-joon as Captain Ahn
• Kim Kang-il as Katō Yoshiaki
• No Min-woo as Haru
• Kim Tae-hoon as Kim Jung-geol
• Ryohei Otani as Junsa
• Park Bo-gum as Bae Su-bong
• Lee Hae-yeong as Captain Song
• Jang Jun-nyeong as Lieutenant Nah
• Moon Yeong-dong as Kim Dol-son
• Kim Won-hae as Bae Seol
• Yoo Soon-woong as Elder Kim
• Kim Gil-dong as Captain Hwang
• Choi Deok-moon as Captain Song
• Park No-sik as Captain Kim
• Kim Hyeon-tae as Ok-hyeong
• Kang Tae-young as Kimura
• Kim Gu-taek as Bae Hong-suk
• Joo Seok-tae as Katsura
• Jo Bok-rae as Oh Sang-goo
• Go Kyung-pyo as Oh Duk-yi
• Nam Kyung-eup as Kwon Yul

Release and reception

South Korea

The Admiral: Roaring Currents drew 682,882 viewers on its first day in theaters on July 30, 2014, grossing US$4.77 million. This was the all-time highest opening day box office in South Korea, for both a foreign and domestic film, breaking the previous record set by Kundo: Age of the Rampant.^[15][16] It went on to set other new records: highest opening weekend, with 3.35 million admissions (US$25.94 million), surpassing Transformers: Dark of the Moon's record of 2.37 million (set in 2011) by 41%; biggest single day for a film in South Korean history with 1.25 million admissions (US$9.71 million); the first time that a film generated over ₩10 billion in a single day; and the quickest film to reach 10 million admissions.^{[17][18][19][20]}

By August 15, The Admiral: Roaring Currents became the all-time most-watched film in South Korea, breaking the previous record held by Hollywood blockbuster Avatar (13.62 million). By August 17, it became the first film to sell more than 14 million tickets in South Korean theaters and the first domestic film to exceed the US$100 million mark.^[8][9][21] At 17,607,820 admissions,^[22] it has grossed US$132 million in South Korea.^[23]

International

It opened in limited release across 30 theaters in North America, beginning August 15, 2014.^[24] Due to favorable reviews from critics and moviegoers, it expanded to 42 theaters on its second week, and its first week gross of US$1.18 million surpassed the previous record held by Masquerade (US$923,442) as the highest-grossing film directly distributed by a South Korean distributor.^[25] The film has grossed CN¥26.53 million in China,^[26] US$2,589,811 in the United States,^[27] and US$135.9 million internationally.^[28]

Accolades

References

External links

• Official website (Korean)
• The Admiral: Roaring Currents on Facebook (Korean)
• The Admiral: Roaring Currents at CJ Entertainment
• The Admiral: Roaring Currents at the Korean Movie Database
• The Admiral: Roaring Currents at the Internet Movie Database
• The Admiral: Roaring Currents at HanCinema