Song Joong Ki faces another box office challenge as his latest feature Bogota: City of the Lost (aka Bogota) struggles to gain traction with audiences, marking his second consecutive theatrical disappointment.
Released on December 31st, Bogota has seen its daily attendance plummet to just 10,000 viewers by January 7th, with total admissions reaching only 336,348. The film now appears unlikely to hit even the 500,000 viewer mark, falling dramatically short of its break-even point of 3 million admissions.
The ambitious production, carrying a hefty price tag of 12.5 billion won (approximately $8.6 million USD), follows the story of Guk Hee (Song Joong Ki), who ventures to Colombia’s capital in search of new opportunities during the aftermath of South Korea’s IMF crisis. There, he becomes entangled with local Korean community power players Soo Young (Lee Hee Jun) and Park Byung Jang (Kwon Hae Hyo).
>> Lee Hee Jun Lauds Song Joong Ki’s Total Leadership on ‘Bogota’ Set
Bogota initially generated buzz as one of the rare Korean productions to shoot in Colombia. However, the production faced significant hurdles when COVID-19 forced filming to halt mid-production. The crew finally completed shooting after returning to Colombia a year later, though this delay contributed to the film’s escalating budget.
Despite a five-year journey from initial filming in 2019 to its release, audience response has been tepid. The film currently holds a CGV egg index rating of 79% and struggles with a 4-out-of-10 rating on Naver. Even after undergoing additional editing following its premiere at the 2023 Busan International Film Festival, critics point to “disconnected editing and lack of narrative coherence” as barriers to audience engagement.
This marks the second theatrical stumble for Song, whose previous film Hopeless (directed by Kim Chang Hoon) only mustered 260,000 viewers in October 2023. The back-to-back box office misfires signal a rocky chapter in the actor’s film career, creating a stark contrast to his consistently dominant presence in television.
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