(Showbox)

Thriller film “Vanishing Time” is suffering lower-than-expected popularity, despite the box office star power of Gang Dong-won.

Since the movie’s release on Nov. 16, “Vanishing Time” has drawn less than a half-million filmgoers. According to data by the Korean Film Council, the movie has been viewed by 495,293 people.

The numbers come as a surprise to those who expected a string of successes for Gang. His last two previous works, “A Violent Prosecutor” and “Priests,” attracted 1 million viewers in theaters within two days and three days, respectively. The two movies went on to attract admission of 9.7 million and 5.4 million.

Snapshot of "Priest" (CJ Entertainment)

Snapshot of "A Violent Prosecutor" (Showbox)

The three movies -- “Vanishing Time,” “A Violent Prosecutor” and “Priests” -- had a rule of thumb in common: a movie directed by a rookie filmmaker that stars Gang. This time, though, the formula didn’t bear out.

Despite positive reviews online complimenting fresh depictions of scenes where time stops and gravity disappears, the ongoing political scandal surrounding President Park Geun-hye and her longtime confidante Choi Soon-sil appears to have turned moviegoers to comedies such as “My Annoying Brother,” a local report by Hankook Ilbo noted.

By Son Ji-hyoung (json@heraldcorp.com)