Mostly smaller-budget Korean movies are set to compete for the local box office during the peak summer season, marking a stark contrast to last year when a handful of tent-pole films raced against each other.

Among the films set for release from mid-July to mid-August, only three films exceed 10 billion won (US$7.23 million) in production costs. They include the action-thriller "Hijack 1971" with a budget of 14 billion won, the action drama "Project Silence" at 18.5 billion won, and the political film "The Land of Happiness," slightly over 10 billion won.

In comparison, the comedy "Handsome Guys" and the action-drama "Escape" have production costs of 4.9 billion won and 8 billion won, respectively. "Handsome Guys" is set to be released on Wednesday and "Escape" will meet audiences on July 3.

Additionally, the comedy "Pilot," scheduled to hit local cinemas on July 31, is estimated to have spent less than 10 billion won. The production cost of the cheerleading comedy "Victory," set for release Aug. 14, is 8.3 billion won.

This still image, provided by Kidari Studio on June 14, 2024, shows actors Sung Dong-il and Ha Jung-woo as the two pilots in the new Korean action-thriller "Hijack 1971." (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) 

This landscape marks a departure from last year, when four major films, "Smugglers," "Ransomed," "The Moon" and "Concrete Utopia," boasted sizeable budgets exceeding 10 billion won each.

With the budgets ranging from as low as 17.5 billion won for "Smugglers" to as high as 28 billion won for "The Moon," these blockbusters featured star-studded casts, fantastic visuals using computer graphics, and exotic landscapes filmed on location overseas.

However, their relatively poor performances have shifted the movie scene this year, as only "Smugglers" drew over 5.1 million moviegoers and "The Moon" and "Ransomed" attracted 510,000 and slightly over 1 million viewers, respectively.

"Being a big budget film does not automatically lead to huge audiences. That no longer works," an official at a local distribution company said. "It seems to have become a trend to release films at the optimal timing that best matches each film's unique characteristics, rather than focusing solely on peak seasons."

A poster of "Handsome Guys" is seen in this image provided by Next Entertainment World on June 12, 2024. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

Most films slated for this summer season possess distinctive individual characteristics.

"Hijack 1971," starring Ha Jung-woo and Yeo Jin-goo, is based on a true event from 1971, when a young South Korean man attempted to hijack a passenger plane departing from the eastern port city of Sokcho, bound for Seoul. It is set to open Friday.

"Project Silence" and "The Land of Happiness" are the final two works of the late actor Lee Sun-kyun, globally recognized for his role in Bong Joon-ho's "Parasite." Lee passed away in December. The former is scheduled to open on July 12, while the other will premiere sometime in August.

The former recounts the plight of people stranded on a bridge, while the latter revisits the 1979 assassination of former President Park Chung-hee.

"Handsome Guys" follows two self-proclaimed "handsome" friends who experience bizarre happenings after moving into their dream house while "Pilot" depicts the job-hunting journey of a man disguised as his younger sister.

"Escape" portrays a North Korean soldier dreaming of defecting from his country and an officer from the North's state spy agency who pursues him.

"Victory," which depicts the story about a cheerleading squad set in 1999, features a sole female protagonist played by Lee Hye-ri.

This photo provided by Plus M Entertainment shows actor Lee Je-hoon as Gyu-nam in the Korean action-drama film "Escape." (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) 

Written by Woo Jae-yeon