South Korea The Man from Nowhere returned 34.3× its production cost, earning $43.1M against a $1.3M budget — one of the highest-return South Korea films in our catalog.
Synopsis
아저씨
“Nothing to lose, nothing to compromise.”
His only friend called him 'the man from nowhere'… Taesik, a former special agent becomes a loner after losing his wife in a miserable accident and lives a bitter life running a pawnshop. He only has a few customers and a friend named Somi, a little girl next door. As Taesik spends more and more time with Somi, he gets attached to her. Then Somi is kidnapped by a gang, and as Taesik tries to save Somi by becoming deeply associated with the gang his mysterious past is revealed.
Audience Engagement
1,167 audience reviews — more than 99% of South Korea films in our index.
Popularity sits at the 91th percentile among South Korea films.
Budget & Box Office Efficiency
At a 1h 59m runtime, production spent $11K per minute on screen and earned $362K per minute back.
Titles With Overlapping Themes
Films and series that share thematic tags with The Man from Nowhere. Number on each card indicates how many keywords overlap.
Other Titles From Opus Pictures
Action + Thriller in South Korea
82 South Korea titles in our catalog blend the Action and Thriller genres. Below: the top-rated of them (excluding The Man from Nowhere itself).
The 2009–2011 South Korea Window
Among 137 South Korea films we catalog from this window, The Man from Nowhere places #18 — near the top of its class.
The 2010s South Korea Landscape
Catalog density by release year across the 2010s in South Korea, 719 titles in total. Highlighted year (yellow) is when The Man from Nowhere premiered alongside 53 others.
Position in Catalog
Released alongside 53 other South Korea films in 2010.
The 408th South Korea title from South Korea we index (earliest catalogued entry: 1955).
Our South Korea catalog contains 1,397 titles in total (931 films).
Thematic Fingerprint
Tags on The Man from Nowhere, grouped by how common each theme is across the full Asian catalog. Rare tags are more distinctive signals.
- child labour · 4
- protection · 3
- organ harvest · 2
- hitman · 30
- hero · 25
- drugs · 24
- neo-noir · 17
- disappearance · 16
- human trafficking · 11
- tragic hero · 7
- martial arts · 369
- revenge · 210
- friendship · 134
- assassin · 47
Reception Benchmarks
Ranked #266 of 1,397 South Korea films indexed here (81st percentile by TMDB audience score).
Rating is +0.8 points above the South Korea average of 6.9/10.
Among South Korea Action productions specifically: #37 of 266 (top 14%).
Production Details
| Primary Country | South Korea |
|---|---|
| Original Language | Korean |
| Spoken Languages | Korean, English |
| Production Companies | Opus Pictures, CJ Entertainment |
| Runtime | 1h 59m |
| Release Date | August 4, 2010 |
| IMDb | tt1527788 |
| Official Site | www.mannowhere.com |