Midnight Runners
Theatrical release poster
Hangul
Hanja
Revised RomanizationCheongnyeon gyeongchal
Directed byJason Kim (Kim Ju-hwan)
Screenplay byJason Kim
Produced byKim Jae-joong
StarringPark Seo-joon
Kang Ha-neul
Edited byKim Chang-ju
Production
company
Movie Rock
Distributed byLotte Entertainment
Release date
  • 9 August 2017 (2017-08-09)
Running time
109 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean
BudgetUS$7 million[1]
Box officeUS$39.7 million[2]

Midnight Runners (Korean: 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 9 August 2017.[3][4][5][6][7][8] An Indian remake titled Saakini Daakini was released on 16 September 2022.[9][10]

Plot

Ki-joon and Hee-yeol are best friends and students at the Korean National Police University. One day, on a night out drinking in Gangnam, they witness the kidnapping of a young girl and reports to the Gangnam police station, but the station'a Missing Persons Unit prioritizes a high-profile kidnapping of a business mogul's grandson over the case. Knowing they are in the critical hours after a kidnapping, the duo take matters into their own hands.

Through their amateur investigation, Ki-joon and Hee-yeol catch up with the kidnappers, who are running an unfertilized egg harvesting ring and learn that many more girls are locked up at their hideout. Ki-joon and Hee-yeol tries to save them, but are beaten and locked up. After escaping their captors, the duo later return to an empty hideout and a cold trail. As they are only students, their professor Yang Sung-il warns them against pursuing the case or risk facing expulsion.

Unable to wait, they once again embark on their own investigation. With the help of CCTV footage, they track the van to a fertility clinic. They undergo heavy physical training and "borrowed" armor equipments from the University. Ki-joon and Hee-yeol go to the fertility clinic, where they subdues all the enforcers, including their boss Yang-choon. They call the police to arrest the kidnappers despite knowing they will get expelled for their actions.

Due to some of the disciplinary committee members in university as they believed that they had done the right thing morally, Ki-joon and Hee-yeol are instead held back a year in their studies and sentenced to 500 hours of community service, leaving the two satisfied with the outcome. While serving their community service, Yun-Jung visits Ki-joon and Hee-yeol and thanks them for rescuing her.

Cast

Main

Ki-joon is a light-hearted, risk-taker who acts first and thinks later.[12]

Hee-yeol is the total opposite of Ki-joon. He is fairly nerdy and more of a thinker than a doer.[14]

Others

Production

Midnight Runners marks Park Seo-joon's first time playing a lead role in a film.[11]

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.[16]

Filming began on 21 November 2016 in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea and ended on 23 February 2017.[17][18]

Release and reception

Local

The film was released on 9 August 2017. It was screened across South Korea in 1,058 theatres.[19] 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[20] and earned a total of US$13.6 million.[21]

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.[22]

By 20 August, less than two weeks after the movie was released, Midnight Runners had been watched by a total of 3,906,566 people.[23][24] By 21 August, within 13 days after its premiere, the movie surpassed 4 million ticket sales.[25] As of 24 August, the film has grossed US$30 million with a total of 4.3 million ticket sales.[26] The total number of admissions increased to 4.83 million by 27 August 19 days after the movie was released, and the film earned a gross income of US$34.04 million.[27] As of 14 September, five weeks after its release, the film reached 5.61 million admissions mark with US$39 million gross, making it the 7th highest-grossing South Korean film in 2017.[28]

International

Midnight Runners was screened in 12 countries. After the initial release in local cinemas, the film was released in Indonesia on 23 August, followed by North America on 25 August, Australia on 31 August then proceeded to be screened in New Zealand, Hong Kong, Britain, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, and the Philippines.[29]

Remake

The official Indian remake in Telugu language is titled Saakini Daakini, was produced by Guru Films and Suresh Productions. It stars Regina Cassandra and Nivetha Thomas in the lead roles, and was directed by Sudheer Varma, where the film was released on 16 September 2022.[30][31][32][10]

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 [33]
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 [34][35]
2018 9th Korea Film Reporters Association Film Awards (KOFRA) Best New Actor Won [36]
23rd Chunsa Film Art Awards Nominated [37]

References

  1. ↑ 조재영 (31 July 2017). "김주환 감독 "'청년경찰'은 성장영화…세상을 구하는 건 열정"". yonhapnews.co.kr. Archived from the original on 31 July 2017. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  2. ↑ "Midnight Runners (2017)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 14 September 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  3. ↑ POP, 헤럴드 (13 October 2016). "'청년경찰' 박서준X강하늘 투톱 캐스팅, 충무로 대세 뭉쳤다" (in Korean). Archived from the original on 5 March 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  4. ↑ E., Maolen (14 November 2016). "Kang Ha-Neul, Park Seo-Joon's new film 'Young Cop' nabs Park Ha-Seon". Yibada English. Archived from the original on 5 March 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  5. ↑ "[단독] 강하늘, '청년경찰' 합류…박서준과 투톱호흡" (in Korean). Archived from the original on 20 August 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  6. ↑ Herald, The Korea (17 July 2017). "Park Seo-joon, Kang Ha-neul play opposites in upcoming buddy movie 'Midnight Runners'". koreaherald.com. Archived from the original on 23 May 2019. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  7. ↑ "Chinese urge suspension of 'Midnight Runners'". koreatimes.co.kr. 11 September 2017. Archived from the original on 15 October 2017. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  8. ↑ 기자, 배정환 (21 June 2019). "영화 '청년경찰' 흥미로운 스토리 설정…현장경험 전무, 수사는 책으로 배웠다! - 경상일보". www.ksilbo.co.kr (in Korean). Archived from the original on 9 December 2021. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
  9. ↑ "Regina Cassandra and Nivetha Thomas to star in Telugu remake of Korean film". 8 September 2020. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  10. 1 2 "Regina Cassandra and Nivetha Thomas' Midnight Runners remake Saakini Daakini to release on September 16". PINKVILLA. 16 August 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-09-13. Retrieved 2022-09-13.
  11. 1 2 "Park Seo-jun to play police cadet in new film". Archived from the original on 5 March 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  12. ↑ Rumy Doo (17 July 2017). "Park Seo-joon, Kang Ha-neul play opposites in upcoming buddy movie 'Midnight Runners'". The Korea Herald. Archived from the original on 23 May 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  13. ↑ "박서준X강하늘, 영화 '청년경찰' 투톱 캐스팅 '대세 모였다'" (in Korean). Archived from the original on 18 October 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  14. ↑ Riddhiman Mukhopadhyay (18 July 2017). "Kang Ha Neul says his character in 'Midnight Runners' is like Sheldon Cooper in 'The Big Bang Theory'". International Business Times. Archived from the original on 20 July 2017. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  15. ↑ "Park Ha-seon to co-star with Park Seo-joon, Kang Ha-neul". Archived from the original on 5 March 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  16. ↑ "'Midnight Runners' sold to 6 countries". Archived from the original on 23 March 2017. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  17. ↑ "박서준-강하늘 '청년경찰' 크랭크인 '2017년 가장 젊고 빠른 영화될 것'" (in Korean). Archived from the original on 5 March 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  18. ↑ "Kang Ha-neul, Park Seo-joon wrap up filming for 'Young Cops'". Archived from the original on 5 March 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  19. ↑ Lee Hyo-won (14 August 2017). "South Korea Box Office: Local Drama 'A Taxi Driver' Becomes Top Film of 2017". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 15 August 2017. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  20. ↑ Shim Sun-ah (14 August 2017). "'A Taxi Driver' wins second weekend". Yonhap News Agency. Archived from the original on 15 August 2017. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  21. ↑ Sonia Kil (13 August 2017). "Korea Box Office: 'Taxi Driver' Outpaces 'Midnight Runners'". Variety. Archived from the original on 15 August 2017. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  22. ↑ Jon Maala (16 August 2017). "'Midnight Runners' to be shown in Singapore, 11 other countries". International Business Times. Archived from the original on 17 August 2017. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
  23. ↑ Shim Sun-ah (21 August 2017). "Two Korean films sweep weekend box office". Yonhap News Agency. Archived from the original on 21 August 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
  24. ↑ Jin Min-ji (22 August 2017). "[Korean Box Office] 'A Taxi Driver' speeds past 10 million ticket sales". Korea JoongAng Daily. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  25. ↑ Kwak Myung-dong (21 August 2017). "'청년경찰' 개봉 13일만에 400만 돌파, "관객 취향 저격"" (in Korean). My Daily. Archived from the original on 22 August 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  26. ↑ Jon Maala (25 August 2017). "'V.I.P.' tops Korean box office for second straight day". International Business Times. Archived from the original on 28 August 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  27. ↑ Jon Maala (28 August 2017). "Park Seo Joon, Song Kang Ho top latest movie actors' brand values". International Business Times. Archived from the original on 29 August 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  28. ↑ "Box Office List". Korean Film Council. 14 September 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-09-19. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  29. ↑ "'Midnight Runners' to open in 12 foreign countries". Yonhap News Agency. 16 August 2017. Archived from the original on 17 August 2017. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
  30. ↑ Adivi, Sashidhar (2 February 2020). "Prep for Telugu version Korean cop act begins". Deccan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 8 October 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  31. ↑ "Nivetha Thomas excited about her upcoming films - Times of India". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 25 March 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  32. ↑ "Shakini Dhakini, Telugu remake of Midnight Runners, resumes shoot". Cinema Express. Archived from the original on 18 August 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  33. ↑ "THE FORTRESS Dominates 37th Korean Film Critics Association Awards". Korean Film Biz Zone. 30 October 2017.
  34. ↑ "제6회 톱스타상, 수상자 절반이 불참...반쪽짜리 시상식 [종합]". Osen (in Korean). 28 December 2017. Archived from the original on 15 April 2021. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  35. ↑ "Top Star Awards for NA Moon-hee, LEE Jung-hyun, CHOI Min-shik and Hyun-bin". Korean Film Biz Zone. 8 January 2018. Archived from the original on 25 November 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  36. ↑ "'1987' chosen by film reporters as the best film of 2017". Yonhap News Agency. 30 January 2018. Archived from the original on 4 November 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  37. ↑ "제23회 춘사영화제 5월18일 개최..홍상수·김민희 참석하나". Newsen (in Korean). 3 May 2018. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
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