Korean films turned in a strong showing in October, accounting for seven of the top ten grossing films Oct. 1 - 25. The fall season is traditionally a time when Korean films do well, and this month proved to be no exception. The strong performance helped Korean cinema to maintain its impressive market share for the year to date, which currently stands at 53%.
 
Leading the pack once again was the courtroom drama <Silenced>, which sold 2.7 million tickets in October to bring its overall total to 4.6 million. It is based on a harrowing real-life incident in which young students at a school for the deaf were sexually assaulted by school officials. The film’s exceptional performance was powered by positive word-of-mouth as well as the publicity generated by extensive news coverage. Popular outrage over the lack of justice in the incident portrayed in the film even led to the passing of new laws to provide additional protection to the disabled against sexual abuse. Amidst widespread discussion of the power and influence of the film medium, <Silenced> has secured its place as a strong contender for upcoming end-of-the-year awards ceremonies. Nonetheless, at the time of this writing, the film was nearing the end of its box office run, and it is expected to finish in the neighborhood of 5 million admissions.

 

A second courtroom drama, this one based on fiction rather than real life, placed at #2. <The Client> stars HA Jung-woo as a lawyer defending his client, played by JANG Hyuk, against a murder charge. The case is unusual in that the body of the victim has disappeared, but the prosecution feels confident about the case, leading to a courtroom showdown. Since its September 29 release, <The Client> sold over 2.3 million tickets, an impressive performance for a genre film made by a young director (SON Young-seong, who debuted with independent feature <The Pit and the Pendulum> in 2009).

 

There was one more Korean film in October that turned in a better than expected performance, and that was <Punch> by director LEE Han. Based on a popular novel, the film tells the story of the uneasy friendship that develops between a high school boy (YU Ah-in) and his teacher (KIM Yun-seok), who also happens to be his next door neighbor. Initially the boy, named Wan-deuk, is bothered to distraction by the teacher, who keeps intruding into his personal life. However one day the teacher tells him that he has located the boy's mother, who ran away when he was just a baby. Wan-deuk, surprised by the news, is further shocked when he learns that his mother is from the Philippines.

 

Viewers seemed to be particularly taken in by the acting performances in <Punch>. The chemistry between rising star YU and veteran actor KIM was remarkable, accounting for much of the film's humor and drama. But a strong supporting cast also added much to the enjoyment of the film. Having previously directed melodramas <Lovers Concerto> (2002), <Almost Love> (2006) and <My Love> (2007), the film marked a change of direction for Director LEE. Its total box office tally, including preview screenings and a single week on release, amount to 770,000 admissions, an auspicious start. Advance ticket sales also suggested that it would remain at the #1 slot in the weekly box office for its second week in a row.

 

The combined success of <Punch> and Silenced came as good news to investor-distributor CJ E&M, Korea's biggest film studio. The strong performances of these two mid-sized dramas came on the heels of a very disappointing summer for the company, which saw its big-budget releases <Quick>, <Hindsight>, and especially <Sector 7> all fail to reach expectations. Nonetheless, in its 2011 lineup CJ can also count the massive box office hit <Sunny> which ranks as the highest grossing film from the first half of the year, with over 7 million tickets sold.

 

As for foreign films, one release in particular stood out: <Real Steel>. A combination of a robot boxing film and a father-son drama, the futuristic work struck a chord with Korean audiences and sold 1.6 million tickets, placing it at #3 for the month. Less fortunate were the 3D version of <The Three Musketeers>, which sold 600,000 tickets and placed at #5, and the action film <Abduction>, which landed just outside of the top 10 with 120,000 tickets sold. Meanwhile the Japanese animated feature <Kokurikozaka kara>, known informally as "From Kokuriko Hill," scored with younger audiences to land at #10 with 169,000 admissions.

 

Despite the overall strength of Korean cinema, there were several titles that rated as disappointments. On the borderline between success and failure was the melodrama <Always>, which marked an effort by award-winning director SONG Il-gon to adopt a more mainstream aesthetic. Featuring two very popular young stars in SO Ji-sub and HAN Hyo-joo, the film was selected as the opening night film at the 16th Busan International Film Festival. However in its commercial release it lagged behind its competitor Punch, selling 460,000 tickets since its October 20 release. Although not a flop by any means, the film seems unlikely to emerge as a word-of-mouth hit either.

 

Deeper disappointment was felt by the companies behind <Countdown>, released on September 29, and <Fighter>, released on October 6. <Countdown> stars acclaimed actors JEON Do-yeon and JUNG Jae-young, and was invited to screen at the Toronto International Film Festival. However mainstream audiences showed less interest in the work, which is unlikely to top 400,000 admissions. <Fighter>, meanwhile, is a baseball drama by director KIM Sang-jin, known for the hit comedies <Attack the Gas Station> (1999) and <Kick the Moon> (2001). With less than 200,000 admissions sold since its October 10 release, the film ranks as a major disappointment.

 

Korean titles scheduled for release in late October and the first week of November include <A Reason to Live> -- director LEE Jeong-hyang’s long-awaited follow-up to her 2002 hit <The Way Home>; romantic comedy <Couples>; <Mr. Idol>, set within Korea's pop music industry; acclaimed independent animated feature <The King of Pigs>; and Thai-Korean coproduction <The Kick>, featuring CHO Jae-hyun, YEH Ji-won, and Thai action star Jeeja YANIN.