A Seoul-based movie investment company said Thursday that more than half of the population of South Korea's capital city went to the movies in January, with the majority of them choosing homegrown Korean films over Hollywood blockbusters.

IM Pictures said in its weekly report that over 5 million people saw movies in theaters in Seoul last month, the largest figure ever for the capital, which has a population of 10 million.

Nearly 65 percent of filmgoers chose Korean comedies and other movies in January, a sharp increase from last month's figure of roughly 47 percent.

In the rest of the nation, over 3.2 million people watched Korean movies in January, another record number, propelling two local films to the top of the box office.

"Silmido," based on the true story of 31 South Korean commandos trained to assassinate the leader of North Korea in the 1960s, topped the list, attracting over 1.7 million viewers in Seoul alone.

A romantic high school comedy, Maljukgeori Janhoksa (The Spirit of Jeetkundo: Once Upon a Time in High School), was second with 820,000 viewers, followed by Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (610,000) and the Last Samurai (410,000).