THE MAZE RUNNER Finds Way to Top of the Charts

Last year’s end-of-year titans finally relinquished their hold on the top of the chart to make way for new releases as a Hollywood film topped the rankings for the first time since Justice League in late November. It was also the first time Korea fell short of...

Korean Cinema Casts Wide Net Overseas

Korea’s film market may have reached saturation at home but that hasn’t stopped Korea’s top film companies from continuing to find ways to grow. 2016 proved to be a landmark year for Korea’s studios outside of their home country, with several Korean-produced t...

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...

LUCK-KEY Has Fortuitous Start

Business surged over 30% after a new local title posted a far stronger-than-expected debut and gobbled up almost 70% of sales. Overall the weekend welcomed 2.41 million spectators, 73% of which opted for homegrown films. Featuring YOO Hae-jin, last seen in RYO...

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...

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 Scores Best-Ever Lunar New Year Launch

Star Power Drives Thriller to 2nd All Time Opening Week After a slow January, viewers once again packed into theatres over the 5-day Lunar New Year weekend, purchasing 3.16 million tickets, 77% of which for local titles. While the figure was 50% higher than t...

THE HIMALAYAS Climbs All Over STAR WARS in Debut

The hotly anticipated new Star Wars, or Episode VII: The Force Awakens, was a global phenomenon this weekend, setting weekend records in the US, UK, Germany and Russia, among others, and powering to a USD 517 million bow worldwide, which is second all time beh...

THE PRIESTS Conjures up Impressive Debut

Exorcism thriller The Priests scared up a higher than expected debut over the weekend, boosting overall business during the traditional dumping grounds of the year. 2.28 million viewers were recorded in theaters over the frame, 72% of which for local fare. Wi...

THE INTERN Promoted in 2nd Weekend

Business saw a predictable drop last weekend in the wake of the Chuseok holidays yet 2.05 million viewers still found their way to theaters as local fare maintained a slight edge with a 50% share of the market. Following a decent debut, word of mouth has clea...