A Triumph for Diversity Films

The Korean box office ended on a bang last year when December delivered by far the best results for Korean and overall sales for the month since records began. Some of that momentum carried through into the early weeks of 2018, but the first quarter of the yea...

BLACK PANTHER Repeats During Quiet Post-Holiday Weekend

WHAT HAPPENED TO MONDAY and THE SHAPE OF WATER Debut in Top 5 The post-Lunar New Year weekend unavoidably posted a large week-to-week drop as few major new titles were launched last week. But as admissions slipped over 50%, with 1.67 million entries recorded, ...

BLACK PANTHER Roars in First

Despite putting forward a wealth of new titles aimed for the holidays, the local film industry was unable to hold on to its market advantage as a global behemoth easily held sway over the charts during the Lunar New Year. Overall, US titles accounted for 53% o...

Battle of December, Three-Way Showdown

With a few presumed hits coming up short and lower-than-usual attendance at some points of the year, particularly early summer, a lot was banking on December to pick up the slack and close the year on a high note. The end-of-year period (late December and earl...

A Good Enough Year, but the Best Year for Korean Films

Box Office Report of 2016 After five years of consecutive growth, the Korean film industry remained healthy in 2016, though the half-decade streak of gains came to an end as the industry essentially remained flat. Admissions reached 217.02 million, which was d...

MASTER Dominates Over Xmas Weekend

Business boosted a hefty 75% over the Christmas weekend to bring admissions to the four million mark, which despite being 15% lower than last year’s comparable weekend was still one of the biggest of the year. A hot Korean local release drove up the local mark...

PANDORA Overpowers WILL YOU BE THERE? Opening

The top two places were unchanged at the box office even with a major now local drama opening. Local releases remained the top draw this session, accounting for 69% of ticket sales, which were on par with last week, coming in at 2.32 million admissions. Down j...

FANTASTIC BEASTS Ekes Out Close Victory

A local comedy gave Hollywood a run for its money during another busy November weekend which saw 2.06 million viewers bustle into theaters. The market share of local fare rose to 45% but remained just below the combined powers of US and UK financiers whose pro...

FANTASTIC BEASTS Spellbinds in Opening

A Hollywood tentpole helped down the top spot once again as a new big-budget franchise installment marched into theaters. Meanwhile, new local titles struggled against well-known foreign properties. The United States and United Kingdom combined their financing...

DOCTOR STRANGE Threepeats During Quiet Weekend

The mid-season doldrums continued as new titles failed to energize the marketplace, which saw a 15% dip in admissions. 1.52 million entries, 50% of which for Hollywood fare, were recorded over the frame. Falling 45% in its third frame was Marvel’s blockbuster ...