Since the Kang Woo-suk-directed Silmido led the rise of South Korean films in 2003, only 10 productions have reached the record admissions of more than 1 million.

There were more tickets bought to the war movie in that country than James Cameron's epic Avatar, fetching an official thumbs-up from South Korean President Park Geun-hye.

After her trip to a cinema, the president recommended the movie to all citizens of her country, according to a Xinhua News Agency report.

In the past 10 years, while South Korean TV series - especially from the romance genre - have become very popular with Chinese, more than 20 full-length feature movies have failed commercially at the box office.

Late Autumn, starring Chinese actress Tang Wei and South Korean actor Hyun Bin, grossed 67 million yuan on the Chinese mainland in 2010, making it the best South Korean act at the Chinese box office to date.

The worst was Shotgun Love, a romantic comedy that grossed only 500,000 yuan, according to a report by Shanghai-based Oriental Morning Post.

Meanwhile, the Hollywood science-fiction blockbuster Interstellar has earned nearly 700 million yuan in China since its release on Nov 12. The Admiral: Roaring Currents, however, may face a fiercer battle in Chinese theaters.

A source close to Korean conglomerate CJ Entertainment & Media, the movie's producers, says that the "strategic adjustment" in Chinese premiere dates is based on commercial concerns to reduce the competition with Chinese and Hollywood movies, Chinese media reports say.