(CJ Entertainment)

The South Korean crime action film "Master" starring top actors Lee Byung-hun, Kang Dong-won and Kim Woo-bin has been sold to 31 countries before its release, according to its local distributor Friday.

The movie's distribution rights have been sold to companies in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Taiwan, Thailand, the Philippines and other countries, CJ Entertainment said.

The action flick had reportedly garnered huge interest when it was showcased at the American Film Market held in Santa Monica from Nov. 2-9.

The film's foreign release will kick off in the US in December. Then it will hit Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore in that order starting the following month.

"Master," helmed by director Cho Ui-seok, revolves around a multibillion-dollar heist plotted by Chairman Jin (Lee Byung-hun), a notorious swindler; Kim Jae-myeong (Kang Dong-won), the head of the police's intelligence crime unit who chases Jin; and Park Jang-gun (Kim Woo-bin), Jin's right-hand man in charge of the company's computer room.

The movie comes to Korean theaters in December. (Yonhap)