SVAHA : THE SIXTH FINGER Points Its Way to First

Local titles continued to impress in the first quarter of 2019 as sales were down only slightly to 2.26 million while the market share for Korean films swelled to 79%. A Hollywood tentpole is sure to reverse that next month, but until then local holdovers look...

Review of the first three quarters for 2016

After a few years of major growth at the beginning of the decade, the Korean box office has remained flat once again, with this year’s total to date staying at the same level as 2015. However, where gains have been made is in the local industry, which has chur...

TUNNEL Scores 4th First Place Finish

Hollywood Claims Edge in Slow Weekend After six weeks of local dominance during Korea’s biggest moviegoing season, local films lost the majority market share for the first time as business cooled off significantly, yet with the Chuseok(Korean Thanksgiving Day...

DEADPOOL Leads New Releases in Korea

A VIOLENT PROSECUTOR Begins to Wind Down A slew of new releases lifted admissions at the Korean box office, as Hollywood fare edged out local competition with 61% of the marketplace. Overall, 2.56 million tickets were shifted over the frame. The R-rated supe...

A VIOLENT PROSECUTOR Scores Best-Ever Lunar New Year Launch

Star Power Drives Thriller to 2nd All Time Opening Week After a slow January, viewers once again packed into theatres over the 5-day Lunar New Year weekend, purchasing 3.16 million tickets, 77% of which for local titles. While the figure was 50% higher than t...

INSIDE MEN Claims 4th Weekend Win

Ahead of the lucrative end of year season, which will kick off this week, admissions took another small dive due to an absence of compelling new releases, leaving Inside Men to take its fourth consecutive weekend crown. Overall, 1.6 million admissions were rec...

INSIDE MEN Steals Third Weekend Crown

Without major new releases to drive in business, attendances slide over the past weekend (1.77 million admissions) as holdovers largely retained control of the charts, while a smattering of new titles placing in the top ten. Though less dominant than last week...

INSIDE MEN Breaks Out in Debut

After a rocky track record at the box office throughout 2015, top Korean star LEE Byung-hun found himself convincingly shuffling back into the top spot with his latest release. Fuelled by strong local films, which accounted for 73% of the marketplace, and major Hollywood franchises, business was brisk in the lead up to winter, with 2.43 million viewers recorded in theaters over the frame.

Bond No Match for THE PRIESTS

Two weeks ago, few would have imagined that any contender would challenge the 24th installment of the Bond franchise, a series that has grown increasingly popular in Korea in recent years, yet a local film staged a major upset by remaining on top of the charts...

THE PRIESTS Conjures up Impressive Debut

Exorcism thriller The Priests scared up a higher than expected debut over the weekend, boosting overall business during the traditional dumping grounds of the year. 2.28 million viewers were recorded in theaters over the frame, 72% of which for local fare. Wi...