By the third week of release, Ego had already surpassed 8 million cumulative viewers.
At that point, reaching ten million was no longer the question.
It was inevitable.
The real question now was—
How high would Ego climb among Korea’s all-time box office rankings?
Before Ego, the only ten-million-viewer film Taeha had starred in was Killer X Killer.
Even after all this time, the movie still remained at 27th place in the all-time rankings. Compared to its original 24th place, the difference wasn’t significant.
After all, films that crossed the ten-million mark didn’t appear every year.
Because of that, public attention naturally shifted toward Ego’s final ranking.
Online communities exploded with debate.
AnotherRandomStringWithNumbers1234567890—Probably won’t rank higher than Killer X Killer
—FYI, Ego reached 1 million viewers faster than Killer X Killer
—I think Ego will surpass it lol
—But there’s no way it enters the top 10, right?
—Top 10 is packed with commercial blockbusters
—Honestly, the fact that Joo Chan-seong crossed 10 million viewers is already insane;;
—This is really the Kang Tae-ha effect lol
—Seriously, Kang Tae-ha is amazing… how did he even work with Joo Chan-seong?
—At this point, Tae-ha practically saved Joo Chan-seong hehe
—Where are all those people who said Kang Tae-ha couldn’t write movie scripts? lol
—Not gonna lie, I was worried because it’s so different from his usual style
—Doubting Kang Tae-ha was crazy lol
—What Kang Tae-ha effect? Ego is obviously succeeding because of Joo Chan-seong;;
—He’s world-famous, sure, but he never even got close to 10 million viewers before^^
—But movies are ultimately the director’s game, aren’t they?
—Usually directors also write the screenplay, so this case is different
—Writer + sole lead actor? That’s honestly insane lol
—Honestly, this just feels like a win-win
—Korea’s greatest director + Korea’s greatest actor/writer. This is basically the national team
The debate never ended.
Was this Joo Chan-seong’s success?
Or Kang Tae-ha’s?
In the end, most people reached the same conclusion.
It was both.
A collaboration no one had expected—
Yet somehow, one that worked perfectly.
Then—
The fifth week of release arrived.
And finally—
Ego surpassed 10 million viewers.
The atmosphere exploded.
Now, another question emerged.
How long could the movie maintain momentum?
More specifically—
Could it maintain the 100,000 daily viewer line?
That number mattered immensely.
A previous blockbuster had maintained over 100,000 viewers per day for forty-one consecutive days, securing ninth place in the all-time box office rankings.
That meant Ego’s real battle would begin in the sixth week.
And unexpectedly—
It held.
Not only did Ego maintain over 100,000 viewers daily during week six—
It surpassed 12 million cumulative viewers.
The number far exceeded expectations.
It even surpassed Killer X Killer, which had only crossed eleven million in its eighth week.
In fact, Killer X Killer had ultimately finished with 11.27 million viewers.
Meanwhile—
Ego had already entered the Top 20 of Korea’s all-time box office rankings.
The momentum felt unreal.
If things continued like this—
Even the Top 10 no longer seemed impossible.
Naturally, Salamander Studio moved quickly.
To celebrate surpassing ten million viewers, they announced a special event:
Stage greetings and GV sessions.
It was something they had done for Killer X Killer before.
But this time—
The significance was entirely different.
Because audiences desperately wanted Ego’s GV.
There were simply too many unanswered questions.
Before release, Joo Chan-seong had revealed some behind-the-scenes stories during interviews and broadcasts—
But there had been limits.
After all—
No one had seen the movie yet.
Now, however, almost everyone who regularly visited theaters had already watched Ego.
And because of that—
People had endless questions.
Especially since Ego was packed with subtle symbolism, layered performances, hidden meanings, and unspoken implications.
The moment news of the GV spread—
Theaters and distributors were flooded with inquiries.
One question repeated endlessly:
“How do we get tickets?”
Even Representative Han seemed overwhelmed.
He visited Taeha’s studio with an unusually troubled expression.
“I’m honestly worried about doing the GV so casually,” he admitted.
Taeha tilted his head.
“Is demand really that bad?”
Representative Han sighed.
“It’s insane.”
“Even actress Song Ji-eun contacted us directly.”
Taeha blinked.
“Ji-eun?”
“Yes,” Han replied. “She asked if she could get GV tickets.”
Tsk.
If she was curious, she could’ve just called me.
Still—
That only proved how overwhelming the response had become.
And with that came concerns.
Particularly—
Ticket scalping.
After thinking for a moment, Taeha finally spoke.
“First, we should increase the number of GV sessions.”
“If we only do one, only around 250 people will get in. The competition will be ridiculous.”
Representative Han nodded.
“That makes sense.”
Then hesitated.
“But… will Director Joo agree?”
“He will,” Taeha said calmly.
“He’s genuinely happy about the movie’s success.”
“And even if he refuses…”
Taeha smiled.
“I’ll persuade him.”
Representative Han visibly relaxed.
“That’s reassuring.”
Taeha continued,
“And we’ll hold the GV guerrilla-style.”
Representative Han’s eyes widened.
“Really?”
“Won’t that reduce the promotional effect?”
“It can’t be helped,” Taeha replied.
“We can’t let people profit unfairly.”
“Besides, this isn’t the first time we’ve done it this way.”
In truth—
Surprise stage greetings and guerrilla GVs weren’t uncommon.
Though recently, the trend leaned toward publicly announced schedules for marketing purposes.
But Taeha cared less about publicity.
To him—
Returning love fairly to genuine fans mattered more.
Then he suddenly smiled.
“Since we’re already discussing it…”
“Why don’t we start tonight?”
And so—
That very night—
Taeha and Joo Chan-seong headed to a theater screening Ego for a surprise late-night GV.
***
The first surprise GV ended successfully.
Mostly.
The audience erupted in shock and excitement the moment Taeha and Joo Chan-seong appeared.
Still—
Not everything went smoothly.
Some audience members asked… questionable things.
One person asked if they could take photos because they had endured an exhausting day just to watch the film.
Another gave a ten-minute personal review instead of asking an actual question.
Even Joo Chan-seong looked visibly overwhelmed.
Fortunately—
Taeha handled things smoothly.
“I’ll take pictures with everyone after the event,” he said with a smile.
“And thank you for the thoughtful review.”
“If possible, could you send me the rest later?”
The awkwardness passed.
But afterward—
The incident exploded online.
A clip of Joo Chan-seong’s visibly embarrassed expression spread rapidly across communities.
The audience member who disrupted the event received fierce criticism.
Many expressed disappointment, saying meaningful questions had been wasted.
Even the media joined in, emphasizing the importance of proper audience etiquette for building healthy GV culture.
Strangely enough—
The controversy ended up helping.
By the second surprise GV—
The atmosphere improved dramatically.
As more sessions continued—
The quality of questions became surprisingly high.
Eventually, Taeha discovered why.
A “Surprise GV Question Sheet” had begun circulating online.
A guide made by fans.
People used it to prepare questions beforehand in case they unexpectedly got into a GV.
Questions were constantly updated.
Answers were shared.
New theories were added in real time.
Taeha could only laugh.
No wonder the questions suddenly became ridiculously advanced.
Thankfully—
Since he and Joo Chan-seong could review the fan-made questions beforehand, answering became much easier.
In total—
They held eight surprise GV sessions.
And perhaps because of the renewed buzz—
The daily audience count remained stable for quite a while.
But no movie lasted forever.
Starting from week seven—
The numbers slowly declined.
By week ten—
Daily viewers finally dropped below ten thousand.
And by the eleventh week—
The decision was made.
Ego would leave theaters.
Still—
There was no regret.
Because the impossible had already happened.
Final Audience Count: 13.51 Million
All-Time Box Office Ranking: 8th Place
A miracle no one could have predicted before release.
Even Taeha found it hard to believe.
8th place…
A record nobody expected.
But—
The story of Ego was far from over.
Because overseas release rights—
And OTT distribution—
Still remained.
So far, Ego had generated 133.3 billion won in revenue.
And that number could rise dramatically depending on global release performance.
Still—
Korean films rarely earned massive profits overseas.
Caution was necessary.
That was why Joo Chan-seong calmly advised:
“Soon, Cannes will send us an invitation.”
“It won’t be too late to expand overseas after seeing the results there.”
And not long after—
Exactly as he predicted—
The invitation arrived.
The Cannes Film Festival.
Not just any invitation—
But one for the Competition Section.
A chance to compete for the Palme d’Or itself.
And alongside the announcement—
Headlines flooded the media:
[‘Ego’ Considered a Strong Palme d’Or Contender… If It Wins, Could Kang Tae-ha Also Aim for Best Screenplay or Best Actor?]