Stranger Than Fiction: Politics & History Inspire Cinema

The Korean box office has had a rocky ride through the first two trimesters of 2017, but this period was not without its success stories. Though controversies and an uneven slate of films presented some obstacles, Korean history remained a strong driver for pr...

Box Office Report for the first quarter of 2017

The first quarter of 2017 was one of few surprises at the Korean box office but one which demonstrated the industry’s stability, both as a global exhibition market and a local production industry. Though not quite reaching the highs of 2013 (55.47 million) or ...

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...

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...

THE AGE OF SHADOWS Remains Top Draw Post-Chuseok

Following the Chuseok festivities business cooled off significantly at the box office and with no new wide releases on deck, a new diversity release landed in the top five. Though falling just shy of a majority, Korean releases still led the country market sha...

NA Hong-jin’s THE WAILING Howls in First Place

Massive Debut for Critically-Acclaimed Thriller A week after it received a rapturous response from Korean critics, NA Hong-jin’s latest film, the Cannes Out of Competition thriller THE WAILING, bowed to huge numbers this past weekend. The thriller helped keep...

Comfort Women Drama SPIRITS’ HOMECOMING Tops New Releases

Led by the debut of comfort women drama Spirits' Homecoming, local titles pushed the market share for domestic films back up to 56% as a total of 2.47 million visitors were recorded over the weekend. Driven by high public interest, the crowd-funded film S...

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 Remains in Pole Position

Business remained brisk over the weekend following the Lunar New Year holiday, with 2.24 million viewers crowding the multiplexes. A Violent Prosecutor maintained its dominant position, hoisting the market share for local films to 66%. Stars HWANG Jung-min an...