A Remake Of An 11-Year-Old Anne Hathaway Classic Is Dominating The Box Office, And It's Resurrecting A Forgotten Genre

Published Sep 21, 2026, 2:00 PM EDT

Merlyn De Souza is a freelance writer and anime enthusiast based in Goa, India, with a Bachelor's in English Literature. When she isn't writing, she can be found exploring various realms of entertainment, including, but not limited to, K-dramas, novels, and even the occasional manhwa. She also enjoys all things creative, like sewing and makeup.

Between The Devil Wears Prada 2, Mother Mary, and, of course, Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, 2026 has been quite a spectacular year for Anna Hathaway. The Odyssey alone has sailed past $1.5 billion at the worldwide box office with no signs of slowing down two whole months later, as it continues to break records on the daily. And right after leaving her mark as Penelope in The Odyssey, Hathaway is set to return to the big screen once again in October in Verity.

All that said, in the middle of all these exciting new Hollywood releases, one of Anne Hathaway's oldest, most underrated movies has returned with a remake after 11 years, and it's already dominating the box office within just days of its release. In fact, it's even beating The Odyssey, proving just how much of a timeless classic it has become.

The Intern's 2026 Remake Is Quietly Taking Over the Box Office

Director Kim Do-young's new Korean remake of The Intern starring Choi Min-sik and Han So-hee recently made its big-screen debut in Korea on September 16, and on the day of its premiere and through the weekend, the movie absolutely took off, rising to the #1 spot at the Korean box office. What's more is, in doing so, The Intern overtook The Odyssey, ending the latter's 43-day streak of dominating the South Korean box office since its release back on August 5.

According to data from the Korean Film Council, The Intern generated 275,183 admissions across just three days, and it is in terms of admissions that the movie blew past Nolan's newest sensation to take the top spot. Nancy Meyers' The Intern, featuring Anne Hathaway and Robert De Niro, famously grossed about $195 million, which was quite an impressive feat given the film only had a reported budget of about $35 million.

So far, the new remake of The Intern has yet to announce an international or streaming release, but in Korea alone the movie has already grossed $1.9 million, and at this rate there's no doubt the remake will follow in the original's footsteps in terms of making back its budget multiple times over.

Feel-Good Movies Are A Rare Sight In 2026

All in all, with a cast as impressive as Choi Min-sik (Exhuma, Oldboy, I Saw the Devil) and Han So-hee (My Name, Nevertheless, Gyeongseong Creature), it's not a surprise that the new Korean remake of The Intern is already drawing plenty of moviegoers. Though beyond its cast and being a remake of quite a well-loved movie, especially in South Korea, there may be another reason why The Intern is already doing so well at the box office right off the bat.

Feel-good movies and comforting comedies like The Intern are becoming increasingly rare. For quite some time now, the box office has been dominated by either action epics like The Odyssey, horror movies like Obsession or The Backrooms, science-fiction adventures like Project Hail Mary, and, of course, Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

However, outside of animated comedies like Toy Story 5 and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, there has been nary a feel-good movie like The Intern, other than maybe The Sheep Detectives. The original Intern movie was comedic, wholesome, and grounded without needing to lean on romance of any kind, and there hasn't quite been another movie like it since, though hopefully, the success of Korea's new rendition of The Intern revives this underrated subgenre.

Cast

• 

  Choi Min-sik

  Kim Ki-ho

• Han So-hee

  Seon-wu

• Kim Jun-han

  Young-hwan

• Ryu Hye-young

  Choi Min-ah

The Intern is a film about Seon-wu, the dedicated CEO of a fashion company, who hires Ki-ho as a silver intern, bringing his extensive life experience into the workplace.