The number of moviegoers in South Korea jumped 55 percent in October from a month earlier thanks to sleeper hits and eased virus fears, a report showed Friday.

A total of 4.63 million went to theaters last month, up 1.64 million, or 55 percent, from 2.99 million tallied in September, according to the monthly report by the Korean Film Council (KOFIC).

The on-month gain was led by the releases of mid-sized films, including the human drama "Pawn," which has attracted nearly 1.5 million viewers since its first run on Oct. 8.

The comedy "Samjin Company English Class," released on Oct. 21, has also lent support to the upside trend, with 800,000 attendees.

The aggregate value of the October box office reached 41.5 billion won ($37.2 million), up 60 percent from a month earlier.

But the October figure slumped 69 percent from a year ago amid the protracted COVID-19 pandemic, with revenues also tumbling 66 percent on-year.

For the first 10 months of 2020, a cumulative 54.5 million tickets were sold, down 70.6 percent from 185.6 million over the same period last year. The total revenue for the January-October period also dipped 70.4 percent on-year to 465.8 billion won. (Yonhap)