“Omniscient Reader: The Prophet” Draws Baffling Numbers At The Box Office

Omniscient Reader: The Prophet, perhaps the most anticipated movie of 2025 so far, finally saw its theatrical release in Korea on July 23.

The movie, which is an adaptation of the uber-popular webtoon, Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint, has been in the limelight for the past few months, but not necessarily for good reasons. From backlash over alterations made in the characters to the casting, and even bad cinematography— the movie has been hit with one after another controversy, raising serious doubts about its box office performance.

BLACKPINK Jisoo’s Highly-Anticipated Movie Triggers Scathing Reviews With New Teasers

However, Omniscient Reader: The Prophet appears to have overcome the crisis, given its viewership so far. According to the Korean Film Council’s data, the movie attracted a footfall of 80,734 ticket holders on July 25 alone, securing the top spot at the box office for the day. Its cumulative audience, up until July 26, was recorded at 281,263.

Though the ticket sales for the first three days have been impressive, there are still doubts about its financial success, with experts wondering if it would be able to break even. On the second day of its release, the movie saw a whopping 40% drop in attendance despite remaining No. 1 at the box office, and the momentum is expected to slow down further.

The audience response to the film has been somewhat mixed. While longtime fans of the original webtoon expressed disappointment over the plot deviations and altered character personas, people unfamiliar with the source literature have described it as an enjoyable watch. However, the movie had a massive production budget, with its break-even point set at 6 million admissions. Going by the early numbers, it might be difficult to reach that number.

Apart from the individual problems with Omniscient Reader: The Prophet, the current decline of the Korean movie theater scene is also expected to affect the movie’s box office collection. In the first half of 2025, the footfall in Korea’s movie theaters fell to its lowest in 21 years. While in 2024, movies like Exhuma and The Roundup: Punishment surpassed 10 million viewers, the most-watched movie in 2025, Opposition Party, has been able to draw only 3.3 million admissions.

While it is still early to predict the fate of Omniscient Reader: The Prophet at the box office, its climb to financial success is certain to be a struggle.

You can read more about the movie right here:

“Omniscient Reader: The Prophet” Scene Goes Viral For “Dogsh*t” Cinematography