# The Night Owl (2022 film)

The Night Owl (Korean: 올빼미; RR: Olbbaemi; lit. Owl) is a 2022 South Korean historical drama thriller film directed by Ahn Tae-jin, starring Ryu Jun-yeol and Yoo Hae-jin. Set in the Joseon era, it is based on the mystery surrounding the death of Crown Prince Sohyeon, who returned from the Qing Dynasty in the Joseon Injo period. It was released on November 23, 2022.

## Plot

Kyung-soo is blind but has excellent acupuncture skills. He enters the palace after being recognized for his talent by Lee Hyung-ik. Around that time, Crown Prince Sohyeon, who was taken hostage by the Qing Dynasty, returned to Korea after 8 years. Injo, while happy for his son, is overcome with unknown anxiety for a while. Then one night, Kyung-soo, who can see faintly in the dark, witnesses the death of Crown Prince Sohyeon. As he tries to tell the truth, bigger secrets and conspiracies are revealed, putting his life at risk. After the death of his son, Injo's anxiety turns into madness and begins to run rampant, and Kyung-soo, who witnessed the death of the crown prince, attempts to reveal the truth behind the crown prince’s death.

## Cast

* Ryu Jun-yeol as Kyung-soo
* Yoo Hae-jin as King Injo
* Choi Moo-sung as Lee Hyung-ik
* Jo Sung-ha as Young Eui-jeong
* Park Myung-hoon as Man-sik
* Kim Sung-cheol as Crown Prince Sohyeon
* Ahn Eun-jin as Jo So-yong
* Jo Yun-seo as Crown Princess Minhoe
* Lee Joo-won as Yi Seok-cheol, the eldest son of Crown Prince Sohyeon
* Kim Do-won as Chun Kyung-jae, Kyung-soo's younger brother.

## Reception
### Box office

As of 16 January 2023, it is the fifth highest-grossing Korean film of 2022, with a gross of US$26,395,809, and 3,317,510 admissions. On December 23, 2022, The Night Owl surpassed 3 million cumulative audiences on this afternoon. An additional 900,000 people were mobilized in two weeks after exceeding the break-even point of 2.1 million on the 8th, which led the box office for three consecutive weeks.
The film was in competition at FFCP 2023, the festival dedicated to Korean film in Paris.

## Accolades

| Award ceremony | Year | Category | Nominee | Result |
| Baeksang Arts Awards | 2023 | Best Film | The Night Owl | Won |
| Baeksang Arts Awards | 2023 | Best Director | Ahn Tae-jin | Nominated |
| Baeksang Arts Awards | 2023 | Best New Director | Ahn Tae-jin | Won |
| Baeksang Arts Awards | 2023 | Best Actor | Ryu Jun-yeol | Won |
| Baeksang Arts Awards | 2023 | Best Supporting Actor | Kim Sung-cheol | Nominated |
| Baeksang Arts Awards | 2023 | Best Supporting Actress | Ahn Eun-jin | Nominated |
| Baeksang Arts Awards | 2023 | Best Screenplay | Ahn Tae-jin and Hyun Kyu-ri | Nominated |
| Baeksang Arts Awards | 2023 | Best Technical Award (Lighting) | Hong Seung-cheol | Nominated |
| Director's Cut Awards | 2023 | Best New Director in film | Ahn Tae-jin | Won |
| Director's Cut Awards | 2023 | Best Director in film | Ahn Tae-jin | Nominated |
| Director's Cut Awards | 2023 | Best Screenplay | Ahn Tae-jin and Hyun Kyu-ri | Nominated |
| Director's Cut Awards | 2023 | Best Actor in film | Ryu Jun-yeol | Nominated |
| Director's Cut Awards | 2023 | Best Actor in film | Yoo Hae-jin | Nominated |
| Director's Cut Awards | 2023 | Best New Actor in film | Kim Sung-cheol | Nominated |
| Director's Cut Awards | 2023 | Best New Actress in film | Ahn Eun-jin | Nominated |
| Korean Association of Film Critics Awards | 2023 | Best Actor | Ryu Jun-yeol | Won |
| Korean Association of Film Critics Awards | 2023 | Best New Director | Ahn Tae-jin | Won |
| Korean Association of Film Critics Awards | 2023 | Cinematography Award | Kim Tae-kyeong | Won |
| Buil Film Awards | 2023 | Best Actor | Ryu Jun-yeol | Nominated |
| Buil Film Awards | 2023 | Best Actor | Yoo Hae-jin | Nominated |
| Buil Film Awards | 2023 | Best New Director | Ahn Tae-jin | Nominated |
| Buil Film Awards | 2023 | Best Screenplay | Ahn Tae-jin and Hyun Kyu-ri | Nominated |
| Buil Film Awards | 2023 | Best New Actress | Ahn Eun-jin | Nominated |
| Buil Film Awards | 2023 | Best Film | The Night Owl | Nominated |
| Golden Cinema Film Festival | 2023 | Best Actor | Ryu Jun-yeol | Won |
| Golden Cinema Film Festival | 2023 | Best Supporting Actor | Choi Moo-sung | Won |
| Golden Cinema Film Festival | 2023 | Best Director | Ahn Tae-jin | Won |
| Golden Cinema Film Festival | 2023 | Best Cinematography | Kim Tae-kyeong | Won |
| Golden Cinema Film Festival | 2023 | Best lighting | Hong Seung-chul | Won |
| Grand Bell Awards | 2023 | Best Film | The Night Owl | Nominated |
| Grand Bell Awards | 2023 | Best Actor | Ryu Jun-yeol | Nominated |
| Grand Bell Awards | 2023 | Best New Actress | Ahn Eun-jin | Nominated |
| Grand Bell Awards | 2023 | Best New Actor | Kim Sung-cheol | Nominated |
| Grand Bell Awards | 2023 | Best New Director | Ahn Tae-jin | Won |
| Grand Bell Awards | 2023 | Best Screenplay | Ahn Tae-jin and Hyun Kyu-ri | Won |
| Grand Bell Awards | 2023 | Best Cinematography | Kim Tae-kyeong | Nominated |
| Grand Bell Awards | 2023 | Best Sound | Park Yong-ki | Nominated |
| Grand Bell Awards | 2023 | Best Costume Design | Shim Hyun-seop | Nominated |
| Grand Bell Awards | 2023 | Best Editing | Kim Sun-min | Won |
| Blue Dragon Film Awards | 2023 | Best Film | The Night Owl | Nominated |
| Blue Dragon Film Awards | 2023 | Best Actor | Ryu Jun-yeol | Nominated |
| Blue Dragon Film Awards | 2023 | Best New Actress | Ahn Eun-jin | Nominated |
| Blue Dragon Film Awards | 2023 | Best New Director | Ahn Tae-jin | Won |
| Blue Dragon Film Awards | 2023 | Best Screenplay | Hyun Eun-mi, Ahn Tae-jin | Nominated |
| Blue Dragon Film Awards | 2023 | Best Cinematography and lighting | Kim Tae-kyeong, Hong Seung-chul | Won |
| Blue Dragon Film Awards | 2023 | Best Technical award (Sound) | Park Yong-ki | Nominated |
| Blue Dragon Film Awards | 2023 | Best Art Direction | Lee Ha-jun | Nominated |
| Blue Dragon Film Awards | 2023 | Best Editing | Kim Sun-min | Won |