Hollywood space epic “Interstellar” cleared the 10 million viewer mark at the Korean box office on Christmas Day, becoming the third film to achieve the feat this year after Disney animation “Frozen” (10.29 million) and Korean period action flick “Roaring Currents” (17.61 million).

Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi film on Thursday joined the 10 million viewership club within 50 days of its release, its distributor Warner Bros. Korea said. Only two other imported films, “Avatar” (13.30 million) and “Frozen,” have crossed the milestone here. 

The film, starring Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway, is an end-of-days sci-fi flick, which is set at a time when humanity faces extinction as a result of drought and famine. A mysterious wormhole is discovered in space that will enable mankind to survive. A group of explorers, including Cooper (McConaughey) and Amelia Brand (Hathaway), is given the mission of saving humankind by finding a habitable new planet.

While “Interstellar” is a hefty 169 minutes long and delves into scientific concepts such as black holes, wormholes and Einstein’s theory of relativity, the film’s emphasis on love and its emotional, thought-provoking plot have attracted viewers of all ages.

The film’s wide success here has been attributed to Nolan’s strong fan base in Korea, as his past works ― “Memento” (2002), the “Dark Knight” trilogy (2005-2012) and “Inception” (2010) ― had all been box office hits. According to Box Office Mojo, Korea became the third-highest-grossing country for the film after the U.S. and China.

By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)