‘Omniscient Reader: The Prophecy’ has topped the Korean box office.
The number one film in South Korea should come as no surprise. Omniscient Reader: The Prophecy earned $1,212,632 in its first week, according to the Korean Film Council. The film opened on July 23 and quickly surpassed the competition, which included the films King of Kings and The Fantastic Four: Four Steps.
Distribution rights to the film have so far been sold to 113 countries including the U.S., Japan, Canada and Germany. The film began its rollout in Taiwan and will have its North American and Canadian release on Aug. 1.
Films based on popular web novels already start with a loyal if exacting audience and Omniscient Reader: The Prophecy was inspired by the popular 20-volume web novel Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint, which had 240 million views. Not only are the novel’s fans buying tickets, but the fantasy action thriller has an A-list cast, which includes Ahn Hyo-seop (Business Proposal, Dr. Romantic) and Lee Min-ho (Pachinko, The King: Eternal Monarch). Ahn recently gained international recognition by voicing the role of Jin-woo, leader of the Saja Boys in the animated Netflix hit KPop Demon Hunters. Omniscient Reader: The Prophecy is his first feature length film and it offered him a chance to act with Lee, an actor he admired growing up.
Lee Min-ho stars in ‘Omniscient Reader.’
The cast also includes Chae Soo-bin (The Rebel, I’m Not a Robot), Shin Seung-ho (A-Teen, Alchemy of Souls), Nana ( Glitch, My Man Is Cupid) and the k-pop groups After School and Orange Caramel), and Jisoo, the most-followed Korean actress on Instagram, (Newtopia, Snowdrop), from the k-pop group Blackpink.
Omniscient Reader: The Prophecy is directed by Kim Byung-woo (The Terror Live, Take Point), who also co-wrote the screenplay with Lee Jung-min. The film is produced by Won Dong-yeon for Realies Pictures, the studio behind the Along with the Gods film franchise.
The story follows Kim Dok-ja (Ahn Hyo-seop), who is the only reader of an obscure web novel titled Three Ways to Survive the Apocalypse. Dok-ja, who loyally read the story for 10 years, is not a fan of the ending, so he sends an angry letter to the author, calling it the “worst novel ending ever.” Can he possibly do better?
The fantasy storyline offers him a chance. The novel suddenly becomes reality and its omnipotent hero Yu Jung-hyeok (Lee Min-ho) appears before Dok-ja. As the only living human who knows how to survive in the world of the novel, Dok-ja strives to write a new ending. In the process Dok-ja learns the difference between being a protagonist and a reader.
Omniscient Reader: The Prophecy is released by Capelight Pictures, a Berlin-based international film distributor. Capelight Pictures began releasing foreign films in North America and the UK in 2019.