The Roundup

The Roundup (Korean: 범죄도시2; Crime City 2) is a South Korean crime action film directed by Lee Sang-yong and written by Kim Min-seong. Produced by Ma Dong-Seok, Kim Hong-baek & Jang Won-seok under the banner of Hong Film, B.A. Entertainment & Big Punch Pictures. A sequel to the 2017 film The Outlaws.

It stars Ma Dong-seok, Son Seok-koo, and Choi Gwi-hwa in the lead role. The film was released theatrically on May 18, 2022. The film became the highest-performing South Korean release since the COVID-19 pandemic. The Roundup became the top-grossing film of 2022 in South Korea, with a gross of US$101.2 million and 12.59 million plus admissions.

The film was scheduled to be filmed in Vietnam in March 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the filming schedule in Vietnam was postponed and the domestic part was filmed first. Later, it was decided to complete the post-production in Korea by mobilizing local filming, sets, and CG. Filming concluded in June 2021.

The net production cost of the film was about 10.5 billion won. Including marketing and promotional costs, the total production cost was about 13 billion won.

The Roundup was pre-sold to 132 countries around the world ahead of its release in South Korea. North America, Taiwan, Mongolia, Hong Kong, Singapore, and the Philippines were preparing for the simultaneous release with Korea. It was released on 2,521 screens on May 18, 2022, in South Korea. The film was released in the Philippines on June 22, 2022, by Raon Company Plus.

The film was banned from screening in Vietnam by censorship authorities because “there are too many violent scenes” while some speculated that it might be because of the negative portrayal of Vietnamese Ho Chi Minh City in the movie.

On accounting its box office performance, the film opened at number 1 at the South Korean box office and mobilized 467,525 admissions, which is the best opening for a Korean film in the last 882 days.

It became the first film in South Korea to register 10 million admissions in 2022 on the 25th day. It is the 4th film starring Ma Dong-seok to break through the $10 million mark, and the 20th Korean film in history to achieve the feat.

After being released in five countries, the film is currently ranked fifth in the global box office as of 12 June 2022. The film became the highest-performing South Korean release since the COVID-19 pandemic.

A sequel under the title The Roundup: No Way Out, directed by Lee Sang-yong and produced by Big Punch Pictures, Hong film, and B.A. Entertainment, with the cast of Ma Dong-seok, Lee Jun-hyuk, Aoki Munetaka, Lee Beom-soo, Kim Min-jae, Jeon Seok-ho, and Ko Kyu-pil began filming on July 20, 2022. It was released in 2023.