Newsbites: The King of Kings! The Promised Land! Godspell!
The King of Kings is a box-office hit in South Korea; the Moses comedy The Promised Land reveals a couple new characters; and a documentary about Godspell gets a world premiere.
The King of Kings is a box-office hit in South Korea
The King of Kings, the animated movie in which Charles Dickens tells his son the story of Jesus, has been playing in its native South Korea for over a week now, so here are some of the latest stories about the film’s release there.
First, box office:
The film came out on Wednesday July 16. It was the #3 movie on Wednesday, the #2 movie on Saturday July 19, and the #1 movie on Sunday July 20.
For the three-day weekend as a whole (July 18-20), the film came in second behind Brad Pitt’s F1, with $2.08 million and 303,370 admissions for the weekend. (In the five-day period between July 16-20, it grossed $2.6 million.)
Since then, the film has passed 400,000 admissions after six days, and 500,000 admissions on its tenth day of release, Friday July 25.
The King of Kings is already the 3rd-highest-grossing animated film in South Korea this year, behind the Japanese TV spin-off Attack on Titan: The Last Attack (930,000 admissions) and the American film Elio (600,000 admissions).
The King of Kings had a better first weekend than the two biggest Korean animated films of all time, but it probably won’t pass their lifetime totals. The King of Kings already took longer to pass 500,000 admissions than last year’s Heartsping: Teenieping of Love (230,000 admissions opening → 1.24 million total), so it might not have the legs that that film did, and 2011’s Leafie, A Hen into the Wild (170,000 admissions opening → 2.22 million total) was an even bigger hit.
As ever, time will tell how high up the chart this film goes.
In the meantime, the film’s director, Jang Seong-ho, gave a few more interviews to help promote the film. Here are a few quotes from The Korea Times:
“People said it was a reckless fantasy. Some even asked if I was trying to bankrupt my company,” Jang said, recalling the early reactions to the animated feature. “Even with support, this was never going to be an easy journey, and the emotional toll was just as great as the practical challenges.” . . .
Jang, however, says he’s even more nervous about its reception in Korea. “The domestic market is harder to predict. I was less anxious about the U.S. release than I am now.” . . .
With the scale and technical ambition requiring more than 20 billion won ($14 million), Jang focused on the U.S. as the primary market.
“After researching Christian content in the U.S., I found that there were almost no cases of failure,” Jang said. “With such a strong ancillary market in North America, I believed we could recover our investment over time.”
And here’s one from the Yonhap News Agency:
Jang said he had always dreamed of making his own film but waited until he felt fully prepared. He began production in 2015, but it took 10 years to complete—twice as long as he originally anticipated.
“There were so many obstacles, especially with funding. As time went on, people who once supported the project began to walk away,” he recalled. “It was painful to continue without any backing or belief from others. Everyone said it would never succeed.”
Jang also commented on the casting process in general, and the casting of Lee Byung-hun (Squid Game, The Magnificent Seven) as Charles Dickens in particular:
He also revealed the casting story of Lee Byung-hun, the only Buddhist among the actors voicing characters. Director Jang said, "The casting of Lee Byung-hun was somewhat delayed. CEO Jang Won-seok of the production company 'The Outlaws' has been a close friend in the film industry for a long time, and he suggested that we should attach a more prominent actor. Since it looked like a minor film, we wanted to add a major actor that the general public would be interested in, so Lee Byung-hun was recommended."
Director Jang noted, "However, I was puzzled, wondering if Lee Byung-hun would take this on, but they said that 'if it’s a good work, he would respond.' Fortunately, the actor expressed a desire to participate in the film. He wanted a movie that he could watch with his children."
Additionally, he mentioned, "Moreover, his in-laws are Christians. He said that when he visits the temple, he also goes to church with his wife afterward. Furthermore, he liked the story of a father restoring his relationship with his son and mentioned that he wanted to participate because the quality of the work was high. It didn't take long from the proposal to casting for Lee Byung-hun."
Speaking of Lee, SBS Star had this to say about his performance—which includes not just Dickens, who narrates the story of Jesus (and A Christmas Carol!), but also the various characters whose dialogue Dickens speaks:
Lee Byung-hun performed the voices of 'Scrooge', 'Nephew', 'Kind Man' from Dickens' own novel 'A Christmas Carol', as well as characters 'Joseph' and even 'God' in stories told to his son Walter. Notably, his portrayal of the 'Snake' in the Garden of Eden scene, with its uniquely persuasive and sly tone, has been highlighted as a memorable moment by the audience.
Finally, Korea JoongAng Daily notes that Korean animation seems to be having a moment right now, between the box-office success of The King of Kings, which became one of the top-grossing Asian films at the North American box office earlier this year, and the streaming success of Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters.
The writer, Moon So-Young, notes that KPop Demon Hunters is about Korean culture but was made by a non-Korean studio (i.e. Sony Pictures Animation, an American studio owned by a Japanese conglomerate), whereas The King of Kings was made by a South Korean studio but features non-Korean characters:
The common denominator between the two films is hybridity. Postcolonial scholar Homi Bhabha described hybridity as a “third space” from which new, dynamic identities emerge. "KPop Demon Hunters" and "King of Kings" exemplify this principle, combining Korean creative input with global storytelling forms to reinvigorate both industries.
And… that about does it, for now. More news about this film later, maybe.
The Promised Land reveals a couple more characters
The Promised Land director Mitch Hudson has revealed two characters who will be featured in his comedy series about Moses leading the Israelites in the wilderness: Bezalel and Oholiab, the two men who made the Ark of the Covenant and a whole lot of other sacred objects for the Tabernacle (Exodus 31:1-11, 35:30-36:7, etc.).
In the newsletter announcing the characters, Hudson wrote:
One of my favorite parts of writing this show is coming across characters in the Bible that I have never seen portrayed in the media before.
This got me wondering if Bezalel and Oholiab have ever been depicted in film or TV before, but a quick scan of the cast lists for Moses the Lawgiver (1974), The Bible Collection: Moses (1995), and The Ten Commandments (2006)—to cite three shows that spend a lot more time on Moses’ life after the Exodus than most of the better-known movies do—turned up nothing. So maybe this will be a first!
We have, at least, already seen a character who is connected to one of these characters: Hur, the grandfather of Bezalel, has appeared in films like The Ten Commandments (1956) and The Bible Collection: Moses, and he was also depicted in The Promised Land’s very first scene (in the pilot episode released last year), as one of the men who helped Moses keep his staff in the air during the battle with the Amalekites.
And who is playing the two new characters? The IMDb doesn’t say who’s playing Bezalel yet, but it does say that Oholiab is being played by Ash Khan, who has played a disciple of John the Baptist’s named Avner in three episodes of The Chosen.
The Promised Land’s first season doesn’t have a release date yet, but you can sign up for updates via the show’s newsletter at the show’s official website.
The show’s producers also just launched a podcast. Here’s the first episode:
Godspell documentary coming to TIFF in September
A documentary about the 1972 Toronto production of Godspell—which kickstarted the careers of Martin Short, Gilda Radner, Paul Shaffer, and many other famous comedians and musicians—is getting its world premiere in—where else?—Toronto.
The film—full title: You Had to Be There: How the Toronto Godspell Ignited the Comedy Revolution...—will play at the Toronto International Film Festival sometime in September, and it now has a trailer, which you can watch above.
Interviewees featured in the trailer include composer Stephen Schwartz (who went on to write musicals like The Prince of Egypt and Wicked), musical director Paul Shaffer (The Late Show with David Letterman), and actors Victor Garber (who played Jesus in the stage production and then again in the 1973 movie), Martin Short, Andrea Martin, Eugene Levy, Jayne Eastwood, Don Scardino, Valda Aviks, and Dave Thomas.
As I said when the documentary was announced last year, I assume the film will focus on the theatrical context in which the musical was produced (and how the cast and crew went on to create the comedy scene of the 1970s and beyond), rather than the content of the musical, biblical or otherwise. But you never know.
I’m a fan of the musical, in any case, so I’m looking forward to seeing the film.
The film’s premiere date hasn’t been announced yet, but the festival runs September 4-14, and the full schedule will be announced August 12. Details here.
Upcoming Bible movies and TV shows:
now-July 27, 2025 — The Chosen: Season 5 (streaming: Prime Video - international)
August 11, 2025 — Judas’ Gospel (theatrical: Locarno Film Festival)
September 4-14, 2025 — You Had to Be There: How the Toronto Godspell Ignited the Comedy Revolution... (theatrical: Toronto International Film Festival)
September 5, 2025 — Light of the World (theatrical: Salvation Poem Project)
September 26, 2025 — Ruth & Boaz (streaming: Netflix)
Fall 2025 — House of David: Season 2 (streaming: Prime Video - Wonder Project)
November 2025 — Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints: Season 2 part 1 (streaming: Fox Nation)
December 19, 2025 — Zero A.D. (theatrical: Angel Studios)
2025 (no month specified) — The Carpenter’s Son (theatrical: Magnolia)
2025 (no month specified) — The Chosen Adventures (streaming)
2025 (no month specified) — The Promised Land: Season 1 (streaming)
March 22-April 5, 2026 — The Faithful (television: Fox)
April-May 2026 — Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints: Season 2 part 2 (streaming: Fox Nation)
second half of 2026 — The Chosen: Season 6: Episodes 1-6 (streaming: Prime Video)
March 12, 2027 — The Chosen: Season 6: Finale (theatrical: Amazon MGM)
March 31, 2028 — The Chosen: Season 7: Premiere (theatrical: Amazon MGM)
no release date specified — David (theatrical)
no release date specified — Jacob (theatrical: Angel Studios)
no release date specified — Joseph of Egypt (streaming: Prime Video)
no release date specified — The Resurrection of the Christ (theatrical: Lionsgate)
who knows when Malick will finish it — The Way of the Wind (theatrical)