DARK FIGURE Casts a Shadow on Venom as Top 2 Titles Switch

In a weekend that saw no new release place higher than third, holdovers kept the engine running as a solid 1.54 million tickets were sold. The local market share ticked up slightly week-on-week, as Korean films clinched a 52% majority. Down 45% but rising one ...

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...

VIP Squeezes Narrow Victory in Late Summer Opening

With summer coming to an end and the humid heat making way for cooler breezes, cinemas saw a 30% dip in business as one new local release led a string of strong Korean holdovers, giving the domestic industry a commanding 80% advantage in the market. Unseating ...

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...

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...

Korea Goes Crazy for ASURA : THE CITY OF MADNESS

Business saw a 25% uptick as we eased into October with 2.48 million tickets sold over the weekend. A strong new local release gave Korea the edge once again and put it back over the majority with 51% as new films flooded the chart. Asura : The City of Madness...

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...

THE AGE OF SHADOWS Shrouds the Competition

Big Chuseok Weekend for KIM Jee-woon's Action-Thriller With Chuseok falling on a Thursday this year, Korean exhibitors welcomed a busy five-day holiday weekend which saw 3.91 million tickets sold. 63% of that total was reserved for local releases and des...

THE AGE OF SHADOWS Guns Down the Competition

Several new releases invaded the charts in the weekend before the Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving Day) holiday, which will give us a five-day weekend this week, but there was only one real contender despite newcomers taking up the top five spots. Business rose ov...