Star Wars topped by local movie in Korean box office

This photo provided by Disney shows, Adam Driver as Kylo Ren with his Lightsaber in a scene from the new film, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” (Film Frame/Disney/Copyright Lucasfilm 2015 via AP)

While ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ tops the international charts, breaking box-office records worldwide, in Korea, it is a totally different story.

‘The Himalayas’, based on the true story of Korean mountaineer Um Hong-gil, topped the weekend box office, outperforming other strong candidates including the international phenomenon, Star Wars.

The adventure epic, directed by Lee Seok-hoon, opened in the first place, making 8.8 billion won, while the latest installment in the Star Wars franchise, directed by J. J. Abrams, debuted in the second place, making 7.9 billion won and taking 33.3% sales of the weekend box-office.

In third place was another anticipated big-budget Korean movie “The Tiger,” directed by Park Hoon-jung, making 3.8 billion won.