Korea’s box office results from the first quarter of 2012 saw multiple mid-sized domestic hits, six of which were among the quarter’s top ten most attended films. Record attendance levels were reached for both a domestic romance film and 3D animation, contributing to all-time highs for both first quarter admissions and sales.

 

Is this a full recovery or just a momentary spike? Some say the recession that began in June 2005 is coming to an end, but others say it is too soon to celebrate. Regardless, Korean films certainly commanded the box office during the first quarter of 2012. According to the film industry’s financial report for the first quarter of 2012 (January 1 - March 31), issued by the Korean Film Council (KOFIC), Korean films grabbed a 60.8% market share. 40,692,834 moviegoers were drawn to domestic productions during that time. Compared to last year’s numbers, this is an increase of 28.2%, setting records for both number of admissions and amount of sales. Although it is a bit premature to conclude that there is now higher demand for Korean films based first quarter growth alone, there is no doubt Korean films have been dominant at the box office thus far.

 

Multiple Mid-sized Hits
2012’s first quarter featured no mega-hits attracting 8-10 million admissions, but instead many films that took in 2-4 million viewers each. Among these were two films released on Lunar New Year’s Day (January 18th), the comedy Dancing Queen and the courtroom drama Unbowed, which was based on a true story. These films brought in 4,009,977 and 3,425,462 admissions respectively. Later in the year, Nameless Gangster: Rules of Time, a gangster film by YOON Jong-bin, grabbed 4,683,724 admissions, making it the biggest box office hit of the first quarter despite an R-rating and a 133 minute run time. The return of veteran actor CHOI Min-sik, the presence of HA Jung-woo, currently one of Korea’s most sought after actors, and a generally solid supporting cast all likely bolstered the film’s success.
 
Korean 3D Animation Attracts One Million
The 3D CGI animation Speckles: The Tarbosaurus 3D proved to be a sleeper hit with roughly 360,000 admissions during its opening week, later accumulating 1,030,000 total admissions. With a release during spring break, the film was able to maximize it’s family-friendly appeal. It was the second Korean animated feature to break the 1 million admission barrier after last year’s Leafie: a Hen into the Wild and the first Korean 3D animation to do so. Thanks to these films reigning at the box office until February, the market share for Korean films hit 75.9% in February 2012, which was the second highest percentage since the 76.4% of February 2007.

 

The Most Succesful Korean Romance Film
BYUN Young-joo’s Helpless, a mystery/drama based on a novel by Japanese writer MIYABE Miyuki, was released on March 8th and brought in approximately 2,420,000 admissions, while the romantic comedy Love Fiction, directed by JEON Kye-soo and starring HA Jung-woo and KONG Hyo-jin, took in 1,711,341. Produced by Myung Films and released March 22nd, Architecture 101 by LEE Yong-ju attracted more than 3,220,000 admissions as of April 22nd, breaking the box office record for a Korean romance film. Holding the previous record with roughly 3,130,000 admissions was Our Happy Time (2006), directed by SONG Hae-seong and starring KANG Dong-won and LEE Na-young.

 

Documentaries on the Rise
The market for documentary films also blossomed this quarter. Released on March 8th was Talking Architect, director JEONG Jae-eun’s portrayal of architect CHUNG Gu-yun. The film brought in 25,706 admissions as of April 22nd and will surpass 30,000 soon. YI Seung-jun’s Planet of Snail, a love story between a woman with a spinal disorder and a man who is both deaf and blind, was released on March 22nd and grabbed 14,286 admissions. TAE Jun-seek’s Mother, a portrayal of the late CHUN Tae-il’s mother, LEE So-seon, has also received positive reviews although its box office performance was not as strong as other documentaries.

 

Foreign Films at the Korean Box Office
While Korean films were sailing smoothly, foreign films in this quarter did not fair well, likely because this is Hollywood’s traditional off-season, with summer blockbusters yet to be released. Steven Spielberg’s Academy Award nominee War Horse and French film The Artist, which took home five Oscars, only brought in about 100,000 and 110,000 admissions, respectively. Martin Scorcese’s Hugo scored only about 50,000 admissions and Margaret Thatcher bio-pic The Iron Lady brought in roughly 140,000. Unlike the huge success of previous Oscar winners in Korea, such as 1997’s Titanic, this year’s winners languished at the box office. Still, French film The Intouchables brought in a surprising 1.6 million admissions as of April 22nd. According to KOFIC, the market share of European films has been decreasing over past 4 years: 3.4% in 2008, 2.9% in 2009, 2.5% in 2010 and 1.9% in 2011. Given these numbers, The Intouchables’ success is rather refreshing.

Unlike previous quarters, where only one or two films dominated the box-office, most Korean films released this quarter have surpassed their break-even points. Next, we have to wait and see if this trend will continue throughout the year.