Showing posts with label couples. Show all posts
Showing posts with label couples. Show all posts

Monday, July 2, 2012

NYAFF 2012: Couples (커플즈, Keo-peul-jeu) 2011


Part of MKC's coverage of the 11th New York Asian Film Festival.

Mainstream cinema has the potential to demonstrate both the best and the worst that the medium has to offer.  Concerning the latter, any number of criticisms can be leveled at the swill and drivel that the world’s film industries will subjects us to and while they are often besides the point, they are just as frequently justified.  When money is involved projects must inevitably revolve around profit, so at one end of the spectrum you will always find shallow and consumerist works versus the riskier ventures, often from established talents, that you will sometimes witness at the other. 

Between these two extremes there lies an uneasy middle-ground, which is expansive and marked by slippery definitions.  Within this domain, there are filmmakers that strive to make something worthwhile from within the strict confines of commercial filmmaking and they sometimes achieve it, indeed every once in a while they might even make something transcendent.  Then there exists the studio hands who, despite working from a seemingly routine template with the assistance of unexceptional pedigree, every so often happen upon something that works.

Friday, February 17, 2012

Weekly Review Round-up (02/11-02/17, 2012)

Lots of big reviews for My Way this week as it played at the Berlin Film Festival and also a number of reviews for romance films coinciding with Valentine's Day this past Tuesday, including a series for Hanguk Yeonghwa.


RECENT RELEASES


(asianmovieweb.com, February 14, 2012)

(Beyond Hollywood, February 15, 2012)

Couples

(Beyond Hollywood, February 13, 2012)

(Beyond Hollywood, February 10, 2012)

My Way

(Modern Korean Cinema, February 16, 2012)

(Init_Scenes, February 15, 2012)

(Hanguk Yeonghwa, February 11, 2012)

(Korean Grindhouse, February 11, 2012)

(koreanfilm.org, February 2012)

(Twitch, February 12, 2012)

(Drama Beans, February 12, 2012)


PAST FILMS


(Hanguk Yeonghwa, February 15, 2012)

(Hanguk Yeonghwa, February 13, 2012)

(Otherwhere, February 13, 2012)

Gagman, 1989
(Mini Mini Movie, February 15, 2012)

(Korean Candy, February 17, 2012)

(Seen in Jeonju, February 12, 2012)

(Hanguk Yeonghwa, February 14, 2012)

Musa, 2001
(Subtitled Online, February 12, 2012)

(Hanguk Yeonghwa, February 16, 2012)

(Init_Scenes, February 10, 2012)


The Weekly Review Round-up is a weekly feature which brings together all available reviews of Korean films in the English language (and sometimes French) that have recently appeared on the internet. It is by no means a comprehensive feature and additions are welcome (email pierceconran [at] gmail [dot] com). It appears every Friday morning (GMT+1) on Modern Korean Cinema. For other weekly features, take a look at Korean Cinema News, and the Korean Box Office UpdateReviews and features on Korean film also appear regularly on the site. 

To keep up with the best in Korean film you can sign up to our RSS Feed, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

Friday, February 3, 2012

Weekly Review Round-up (01/28-02/03, 2012)

A couple of reviews of current films, including the hotly anticipated Nameless Gangster and lots of reviews for past films this week, including a trio concerning Lee Myeong-se's gorgeous Duelist (2005), which was screened in London with a Q&A from Lee himself as part of the KCCUK's 12 Korean Directors program of 2012.


CURRENT KOREAN RELEASES


(hancinema.net, January 28, 2012)

(enewsworld.com, January 27, 2012)


RECENT FILMS


(Korean Candy, February 1, 2012)

(Hanguk Yeonghwa, January 28, 2012)

(Twitch, February 2, 2012)

(Hanguk Yeonghwa, February 2, 2012)

(Modern Korean Cinema, January 30, 2012)

(Hanguk Yeonghwa, February 1, 2012)

(Film Business Asia, February 2, 2012)

(Film School Rejects, January 27, 2012)

The Front Line

(Musings From a Twinkie, January 30, 2012)

(Init_Scenes, February 1, 2012)

(Tai's Film Duet, January 28, 2012)

(Otherwhere, February 2, 2012)


PAST FILMS


DMZ, 1965
(Rainy Day Movies, February 1, 2012)

Duelist, 2005

I'm a Cyborg But That's Okay, 2006

(Drama Beans, January 28, 2012)

(Korean Candy, January 27, 2012)

(Hanguk Yeonghwa, January 30, 2012)

(Korean Candy, February 1, 2012)

Volunteer, 1941
(Seen in Jeonju, January 25, 2012)

(Seen in Jeonju, January 19, 2012)


The Weekly Review Round-up is a weekly feature which brings together all available reviews of Korean films in the English language (and sometimes French) that have recently appeared on the internet. It is by no means a comprehensive feature and additions are welcome (email pierceconran [at] gmail [dot] com). It appears every Friday morning (GMT+1) on Modern Korean Cinema. For other weekly features, take a look at Korean Cinema News, and the Korean Box Office UpdateReviews and features on Korean film also appear regularly on the site. 

To keep up with the best in Korean film you can sign up to our RSS Feed, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

Monday, November 14, 2011

Korean Box Office Update (11/11-11/13, 2011)

Weekend of November 11-13:

TitleRelease DateWeekendTotal
1Punch10/20/11462,6703,382,457
2Immortals (us)11/10/11391,317490,466
3Real Steel (us)10/12/11175,2532,850,840
4You're My Pet11/10/11158,219208,344
5Penny Pinchers11/10/11111,793158,337
6In Time (us)10/27/1133,774523,998
7Couples11/2/1128,850307,340
8Always10/20/1123,065987,972
9The Help (us)11/3/1114,56989,441
10A Reason to Live10/27/117,26694,243
-The Kick11/3/116,11145,660
-Mr. Idol11/3/113,74269,878
-King of Pigs11/3/111,9917,786
-The Crucible9/22/118534,668,645
-The Client9/29/115422,395,115


Punch led another strong weekend at the Korean box office with a total 1.44 million tickets sold, of which  55% were for Korean films.  This represented a slight uptick for tickets sold but a drop for Korean market share versus the same weekend last year.  Though, of late, many Korean films have been underperforming, the slack has been picked up by a handful of particularly successful films.  It's great to see so many Korean films stack up millions of admissions but also a little worrying that this is happening at the expense of many other films which are barely registering with moviegoers.

Despite some big competition from the just-released Immortals, Punch scored its fourth consecutive win with another big 462,670.  This is the first time it has dropped since it release, though a 35% decline versus last week's final figures is nothing to be worried about, in fact that percentage will likely shrink as the final count is tallied for this weekend's receipts.  The well-received picture now sits on 3,382,457 and will quickly cross 4 million with a very good chance of challenging for 5.  It remains to be seen whether the word of mouth as reached it zenith.  Like Sunny earlier this year, it is not inconceivable that it will increase again.

Immortals opened with 391,347, a respectable figure given how it has done in other territories.  Real Steel added another 175,253 (a 40% drop) and is now within striking distance of the 3 million mark.  If it crosses it, it will be only the fifth non-Korean film to do so this year, an impressive result.

You're My Pet managed a 158,219 opening weekend without the benefit of any previews last week.  For a mid-level film this is an okay start but if it drops fast next week, it won't be seen as a satisfactory result.  Similarly Penny Pinchers went wide this weekend with 111,793, another so-so opening that will be tested this coming weekend.

Despite some positive word of mouth, Couples completely fell apart, dropping a catastrophic 84%.  People who have seen it have expressed surprise at the film, expecting something mediocre and being delighted to be contradicted.  Is this poor result the fault of bad marketing?  Why is it that people assumed this was going to be a bad film?  Perhaps it never had a chance.

Always fell hard again, about 70%, but 23,065 weekend has brought it very close to the 1 million mark, which it will likely cross in the next week or 10 days.  Not a bad result but still a little underwhelming.

In Time and The Help also saw considerable drops this weekend, though the former, with over half a million admissions has had a decent performance.

After all but disappearing from marquees last weekend, A Reason to Live has bounced back, growing nearly 200%.  Though the resulting 7,266 weekend is not necessarily something to be jubilant about.  Still, the film is set to cross 100,000 admissions now so it will save some face.

The other of last week's openers, The Kick and Mr. Idol, fell 80% and 90% respectively.  Even with significant media coverage, these films have completely floundered at the box office.  What went wrong exactly? The Kick's failure does not bode well for further Thai-Korean co-productions or indeed for martial arts films in general while the dud that is Mr. Idol seems to show little overlap between the K-Movie and K-Pop worlds.


The Korean Box Office Update is a weekly feature which provides detailed analysis of film box office sales over the Friday to Sunday period in Korea. It appears every Monday morning (GMT+1) on Modern Korean Cinema. For other weekly features, take a look at Korean Cinema News and the Weekly Review Round-upReviews and features on Korean film also appear regularly on the site. 

To keep up with the best in Korean film you can sign up to our RSS Feed, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

Monday, November 7, 2011

Korean Box Office Update (11/04-11/06, 2011)

Weekend of November 4-6, 2011:

Title Release Date Weekend Total
1 Punch 10/20/11 574,631 2,465,751
2 Real Steel (us) 10/12/11 245,537 2,499,600
3 Couples 11/2/11 144,623 189,965
4 In Time (us) 10/27/11 87,109 406,663
5 Always 10/20/11 60,106 894,813
6 Mr. Idol 11/3/11 33,391 48,780
7 The Help (us) 11/3/11 33,181 49,556
8 The Kick 11/3/11 20,865 27,101
9 Guzaarish (India) 11/3/11 18,851 30,894
10 Johnny English Reborn (uk) 11/2/11 17,277 20,362
- Penny Pinchers     11/10/11 9,475 10,175
- Teacher and the Devils       10/27/11 3,579 12,535
- The Crucible        9/22/11 3,561 4,662,753
- The Client       9/29/11 2,880 2,389,540
- A Reason to Live 10/27/11 2,573 55,583


Business remained strong this weekend with 1.28 million admissions, another year-on-year increase, and a 65% market share for Korean films.  Punch is once again the big news this week as it has topped the chart for a third consecutive week.  Even more impressive is that after last week's big increase over its opening weekend, it doesn't seem to have lost any business this time around.  Its 574,631 take lifted its total to 2,465,751 which is already good enough for no. 8 on the yearly chart.  Word of mouth is very strong for this pic and it may well have a lot more milestones in store.

Real Steel same in at no. 2 for the third straight week with 245,537, which is down about a third from last week.  It has performed very strongly over the past month and looks set to cross 3 million in the coming weeks which should land it on the combined top 10 for the year.

Couples went wide this week on nearly 400 screens but only mustered a so-so 144,623.  With Punch dominating the way it is, Couples will likely take a big drop next week and disappear from marquees soon after.

Always dropped by two thirds for 60,106 and has now accumulated 894,813 to date.  The 1 million mark is tantalizingly close but may be a fraction too far out of reach.  While not a bad number for a romance film, this performance will likely be seen as a bit disappointing given the saturated marketing surrounding it, especially as it opened the recent new-look Busan International Film Festival.  Bad reviews and poor word of mouth are what sunk it in the end.

Mr. Idol, which has had one of the more aggressive marketing campaigns of the season, opening with an embarrassing 33,391, that's a little less than 100 tickets per screen for its first weekend.  As enormous as K-Pop is (at home and abroad), it has yet to be successfully mined for a feature film.  Execs may be scratching their heads at the poor performance of what seemed like a surefire hit but in Korea you can't beat bad reviews, no matter how big your fan base is.

The Kick, which has generated a lot of buzz and press coverage as the first Thai-Korean marital arts production, also got off to a poor start with 20,865, unless these are previews which, at 154 screens, may well be the case.

Three other movies opened this weekend from across the world, The Help (USA) with 33,181, Guzaarish (India) with 18,851, and Johnny English Reborn (UK) with 17,277.  These are all mediocre hauls but none of these pictures could have been expected to perform well in Korea.

Penny Pinchers had its previews this weekend and will go wide later this week but its 9,475 start does not bode particularly well.  I imagine it will open somewhere in the middle of the chart.  The big question is if Punch can continue its extraordinary run!



The Korean Box Office Update is a weekly feature which provides detailed analysis of film box office sales over the Friday to Sunday period in Korea. It appears every Monday morning (GMT+1) on Modern Korean Cinema. For other weekly features, take a look at Korean Cinema News and the Weekly Review Round-upReviews and features on Korean film also appear regularly on the site. 

To keep up with the best in Korean film you can sign up to our RSS Feed, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.