Midnight Runners

Midnight Runners
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Jason Kim (Kim Ju-hwan)
Produced by	Kim Jae-joong
Screenplay by	Jason Kim
Starring	Park Seo-joon Kang Ha-neul
Production company	Movie Rock
Distributed by	Lotte Entertainment
Release dates	August 9, 2017 (2017-08-09)
Running time	109 minutes
Country	South Korea
Language	Korean
Budget	US$7 million
Box office	US$38.7 million

Midnight Runners (Hangul: 청년경찰; hanja: 靑年警察; RR: Cheongnyeon gyeongchal; lit. Young Cop) is a 2017 South Korean action comedy film directed by Jason Kim (Kim Ju-hwan) and starring Park Seo-joon and Kang Ha-neul. The film was released on August 9, 2017.

Plot

The story is about two Korean National Police University students, Ki-joon (Park Seo-joon) and Hee-yeol (Kang Ha-neul), who witness a kidnapping and track it down. However, the authorities are busy with the kidnapping of a son of a business mogul. They decide to embark on their own amateur investigation, which gets them into all sorts of trouble.

Cast

Main

• Park Seo-joon as Park Ki-joon

Ki-joon is a light-hearted, risk-taker who acts first and thinks later.

• Kang Ha-neul as Kang Hee-yeol

Hee-yeol is the total opposite of Ki-joon. He is fairly nerdy and more of thinker than a doer.

Others

• Park Ha-sun as Lee Joo-hee
• Sung Dong-il as Professor Yang Sung-il
• Go Joon as Yang-choon
• Bae Yoo-ram as Jae-ho
• Lee Ho-jung as Lee Yoon-jung
• Lee Jun-hyuk as Professor Ha
• Seo Jung-yeon as Ki-joon's mother
• Choi Hong-il as Hee-yeol's father

Production

Midnight Runners marks Park Seo-joon's first time playing a lead role in a film.

Midnight Runners was sold to six countries at the Hong Kong International Film & TV Market. The rights to the film have been purchased by companies including Japan's The Klockworx, Taiwan's Long Shong, Hong Kong's Deltamac HK, Philippines' Viva Comm and Singapore's Purple Plan.

Filming began on November 21, 2016 in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea and ended on February 23, 2017.

Release and reception

Local

The film was released on August 9, 2017. It was screened across South Korea in 1,058 theatres. The film placed second at the box office on the opening day and earned US$1.97 million with a total of 308,303 ticket sales.

During the first five days of its release, the film attracted 1.9 million viewers and earned a total of US$13.6 million.

Within the first eight days after its release, the movie garnered 2.73 million admissions, earning a total of US$18.9 million, which exceeded the production budget of US$6.13 million.

By August 20, less than two weeks after the movie was released, Midnight Runners had been watched by a total of 3,906,566 people. By August 21, within 13 days after its premiere, the movie surpassed 4 million ticket sales. As of August 24, the film has grossed US$30 million with a total of 4.3 million ticket sales. The total number of admissions increased to 4.83 million by August 27, 19 days after the movie was released, and the film earned a gross income of US$34.04 million. As of September 14, five weeks after its release, the film reached 5.61 million admissions mark with US$39 million gross, making it the 4th highest-grossing South Korean film in 2017.

International

Midnight Runners was screened in 12 countries. After the initial release in local cinemas, the film was released in Indonesia on August 23, followed by North America on August 25, Australia on August 31 then proceeded to be screened in New Zealand, Hong Kong, Britain, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, and the Philippines.

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Recipient	Result	Ref.
2017	26th Buil Film Awards	Best New Actor	Park Seo-joon	Nominated
	37th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards			Won
		Top 10 Films	Midnight Runners	Won
	54th Grand Bell Awards	Best New Actor	Park Seo-joon	Won
		Best New Director	Jason Kim	Nominated
	1st The Seoul Awards	Best New Actor	Park Seo-joon	Nominated
	6th Korea Film Actors Association Awards	Popular Star Award		Won
2018	9th Korea Film Reporters Association Film Awards (KOFRA)	Best New Actor		Won
	23rd Chunsa Film Art Awards			Nominated

External links

• Midnight Runners at Daum (Korean)
• Midnight Runners at Naver (Korean)
• Midnight Runners at Movist (Korean)