Showing posts with label the client. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the client. Show all posts

Sunday, August 26, 2012

KOFFIA 2012: The Client (의뢰인, Eui-roi-in) 2011


Part of MKC's coverage of the 3rd Korean Film Festival in Australia (previously published).

There are few things more satisfying than a well-performed and thoughtfully structured courtroom drama. I for one have pleasantly idled away many a Sunday afternoon whisked away into the heady wood-paneled halls of justice. The beauty of legal dramas or thrillers is that by way of their conceit they are already confined, for the most part, to one location and as viewers we accept this fact. More than most genres, with courtroom films we largely know what we’re getting ourselves into.

So what makes these films so popular when they are so constrained by their design? Their narratives typically do not require the presence of too many characters and often eschew subplots which may otherwise seem contrived. This makes them quite lean and generally pretty easy to follow and be drawn in by. For the most part the stories will be determined by the answer to one question: will the case be won or lost? But the most engaging thing about courtroom dramas is the bitter contest of right vs. wrong. We are compelled to deliberate over the evidence and arguments presented by both sides (though we are often led by the filmmaker’s guiding hand) which in effect means that our viewing experience sees us living vicariously through the jury represented on screen. Some of the genre’s best examples are fully aware of this fact and use it to their advantage, such as the slippery and claustrophobic moralizing of Twelve Angry Men (1956).

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 10, 2012

Weekly Review Round-up (02/02-0210, 2012)

A pair of reviews for the hotly anticipated thriller Howling this week which will be opening on the 16th in Korea.  Many more reviews of past and current films also on offer from a wide range of sources.


CURRENT KOREAN RELEASES


Howling

(Seonyeong's Private Place, February 4, 2012)


RECENT FILMS


(Hanguk Yeonghwa, February 7, 2012)

(YAM Mag, February 9, 2012)

(Beyond Hollywood, February 6, 2012)

(Init_Scenes, February 3, 2012)

(Init_Scenes, February 5, 2012)

(Seen in Jeonju, February 3, 2012)

Pain

Quick

Silenced

(Hanguk Yeonghwa, February 9, 2012)

The Client

The Front Line

(The One One Four, February 8, 2012)


PAST FILMS


(Hanguk Yeonghwa, February 5, 2012)

D-Wars, 2007
(Korean Grindhouse, February 4, 2012)

(New Korean Cinema, February 9, 2012)

(Hangul Celluloid, February 8, 2012)

The Chaser, 2008
(Initi_Scenes, February 7, 2012)

Thirst, 2009
(The Daily Athanaeum, February 7, 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.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

The Client (박희순, Eui-roi-in) 2011


There are few things more satisfying than a well-performed and thoughtfully structured courtroom drama.  I for one have pleasantly idled away many a Sunday afternoon whisked away into the heady wood-paneled halls of justice.  The beauty of legal dramas or thrillers is that by way of their conceit they are already confined, for the most part, to one location and as viewers we accept this fact.  More than most genres, with courtroom films we largely know what we’re getting ourselves into.

So what makes these films so popular when they are so constrained by their design?  Their narratives typically do not require the presence of too many characters and often eschew subplots which may otherwise seem contrived.  This makes them quite lean and generally pretty easy to follow and be drawn in by.  For the most part the stories will be determined by the answer to one question: will the case be won or lost?  But the most engaging thing about courtroom dramas is the bitter contest of right vs. wrong.  We are compelled to deliberate over the evidence and arguments presented by both sides (though we are often led by the filmmaker’s guiding hand) which in effect means that our viewing experience sees us living vicariously through the jury represented on screen.  Some of the genre’s best examples are fully aware of this fact and use it to their advantage, such as the slippery and claustrophobic moralizing of Twelve Angry Men (1956).


Perhaps the most important element of any solid and engaging legal thriller is the strength of its characters and by extension the importance of their casting.  Who could ever forget Jimmy Stewart in Anatomy of a Murder (1959), Gregory Peck in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), or Paul Newman in The Verdict (1982).  Though I’m sure not all will agree, but there’s also much to be said for Tom Cruise’s endearing performance in A Few Good Men (1992).  In considering the recent Korean courtroom drama The Client, the first thing that pops to mind is the charismatic performance of Ha Jeong-woo, who is surely on his way to becoming one of the peninsula’s leading stars.  Though judging by the massive opening of his new film Nameless Gangster this past weekend, he already seems quite close to that distinction.

The premise to The Client is quite simple:  a man returns to his apartment early one morning to find it overrun by police investigating a murder, the victim being his wife.  As all the evidence, albeit circumstantial, points to him, he his immediately hauled away for questioning.  Despite the seeming open-and-shut nature of the case, attorney Kang (Ha Jeong-woo) takes on the defendant Han (Jang Hyeok) as his client.  Kang is a gregarious lawyer, confident in his abilities, and he will do battle with his rival prosecutor Ahn (Park Hee-soon) in the court while also dealing with his client, who seems to be holding something back.


The film sets up a classic did he or didn’t he scenario but rather than linger on this question, it lets it eat away at the edges of the frame as it chooses instead to focus its attention on the contentious and grudgingly respectful battle between the tremendous presence of Kang and the imposing steeliness of Ahn.  In his second outing, Director Sohn Young-sung adroitly handles the pacing, which is taut and even at 123 minutes never lags.  He also exhibits some panache in the mise-en-scene department though modestly holds back as he wisely gives way to the considerable talents of his first-rate cast.

It hardly needed any more confirmation, but The Client should easily qualify Ha Jeong-woo as a major star with the kind of mix of natural charm and good looks that is reminiscent of some of the silver screen’s coolest icons like Paul Newman, or perhaps he’s Korea’s equivalent to Hollywood’s icon-of-the-moment Ryan Gosling.  Either way we’ll be in no short supply of his talents for the foreseeable future as he stars in two film released this month, Nameless Gangster and Love Fiction, and then Ryoo Seung-wan’s big budget spy thriller The Berlin File which is about to start shooting on location in Europe.


Park Hee-soon is somewhat of an anomalous presence in the Korean star system.  He’s handsome and often cast as the leading man but he might be the most intense actor in the country.  He doesn’t display any sense of humor, which adds a rather unsettling but effective tone to his performance as a larger-than life soccer coach in A Barefoot Dream (2010), but it can also be a drag on proceedings that are already bereft of much spirit like last year’s promising but ultimately shallow and turgid The Showdown (2011).  However, he does excel at playing saturnine characters and when employed effectively he can be a formidable presence, such as in Hansel in Gretel (2007).  Sohn is one of those deft hands who knows how to wield his strengths and as prosecutor Park he is an excellent foil to Ha’s outgoing litigator.

The Client is not without its faults.  While more than serviceable, the plot is merely adequate, constantly to-ing and fro-ing with the odd curveball thrown in for good measure.  At the end of the day it offers nothing new in the exhausted setting of the legal thriller.  Nevertheless, it is a satisfying way to divert oneself during the course of a lazy Sunday.

Following the critical and commercial success of The Client and more recently Unbowed, it’s a safe bet to say that Korea will soon greenlight some more high-profile courtroom dramas and if the quality of this effort is anything to go by, these would be a most welcome addition to the ever-versatile Korean film industry’s production slate.

★★★★☆



Reviews and features on Korean film appear regularly on Modern Korean Cinema.  For film news, external reviews, and box office analysis, take a look at the Korean Box Office UpdateKorean Cinema News and the Weekly Review Round-up, which appear weekly on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings (GMT+1).

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.

Friday, November 4, 2011

Weekly Review Round-up (10/29-11/04, 2011)

A few reviews for Silenced (aka The Crucible/Dogani) this week as it opened in select locations in the US.  A variety of other pieces, including some on Sector 7 and The Yellow Sea.  I imagine that next week we will be seeing a lot of write-ups coming in from the London Korean Film Festival, which opened last night.


CURRENT KOREAN RELEASES


RECENT RELEASES
(Film Business Asia, October 28, 2011)

Hero
(Modern Korean Cinema, November 1, 2011)

(unseen films, October 30, 2011)

Poongsan
(Modern Korean Cinema, November 3, 2011)

(hancinema.net, October 29, 2011)

Stateless Things
(Anikor, November 1, 2011)

Sunny
(japancinema.net, November 3, 2011)

(hancinema, October 29, 2011)

The Yellow Sea
(The Student, October 29, 2011)
(Varsity, November 2, 2011)

War of the Arrows
(Every Film in 2011, November 2, 2011)


PAST FILMS

(Init_Scenes, November 1, 2011)

Family Ties, 2006
(Otherwhere, November 2, 2011)

Take Care of My Cat, 2001
(Otherwhere, October 28, 2011)

(Hangul Celluloid, October 30, 2011)


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, October 31, 2011

Korean Box Office Update (10/28-10/30, 2011)

Weekend of October 28-30, 2011:


Title Release Date Weekend Total
1 Punch 10/20/11 594,125 1,510,522
2 Real Steel (us) 10/12/11 355,383 2,085,158
3 In Time (us) 10/27/11 188,317 220,966
4 Always 10/20/11 173,033 735,159
5 The Client 9/29/11 39,924 2,367,018
6 Friends with Benefits (us) 10/27/11 29,920 46,366
7 The Three Musketeers (uk) 10/12/11 28,755 644,117
8 Silenced 9/22/11 27,994 4,640,739
9 A Reason To Live 10/27/11 27,424 39,162
10 The Tree of Life (us) 10/27/11 19,205 24,663
- Teacher and the Devils 10/27/11 3,012 6,078
- You Pet 11/10/11 2,305 2,305
- HIT 10/13/11 1,538 109,167
- Couples 11/2/11 1,456 7,994


Another healthy weekend at the box office, although with little discernible difference from last week's.  Admissions totalled 1.53 million, yet another increase over last year.  The market share held steady at 56% which was below last year's weekend (70%) when The Unjust opened.

Punch remained on top after a strong start, not only that but ut managed to increase by nearly 20% in its sophomore frame for a 594,125 three-day and 1,510,522 total.  This will certainly be Kim Yun-seok's fifth straight feature to top 2 million, a remarkable feat.  The question is how far can it go in the coming weeks, word of mouth seems to be strong so I'm betting it will cross 3 million before long.

Real Steel declined a modest 30% to 355,383 and managed to cross 2 million in the process.  A strong performance for a film that has underwhelmed in its homeland.  Justin Timberlake seems to be flavor of the week as his romcom Friends With Benefits, which opened months ago in the west, and his current In Time both opened to middling figures, 29,920 and 188,317 respectively.  Friends With Benefits seemed to fare particularly badly but I don't think romcoms play well in Korea since the homegrown product in that department is so strong.

Always lost half its audience after a midlevel start and wound up with 173,033.  At this point it may or may not cross the 1 million mark.  The Client, which had played strong throughout the month took a big tumble as it prepares to exit theaters. It added 39,924 to an impressive 2,367,018 total.  Silenced performed similarly as it dropped to 27,994 for what will likely to its last weekend in the top 10.  It has sold 4,640,739 tickets to date and sits at number 4 on the yearly chart.

Song Hye-kyo's new movie, A Reason to Live, which premiered at Busan, got off to a very disappointing start with 27,424 admissions.  This will likely be its one and only week in the top 10.

Next week, the anticipated marital arts Thai-Korean co-production The Kick will make its bow in theaters.


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, October 24, 2011

Korean Box Office Update (10/21-10/23, 2011)

Weekend of October 21-23, 2011:


Title Release Date Weekend Total
1 Punch 10/20/11 461,290 584,528
2 Real Steel (us) 10/12/11 453,322 1,485,699
3 Always 10/20/11 268,422 372,552
4 The Client 9/29/11 115,135 2,256,985
5 The Three Musketeers (uk) 10/12/11 99,595 564,313
6 Silenced 9/22/11 80,528 4,544,968
7 Paranormal Activity 3 (us) 10/20/11 49,321 56,590
8 Hit 10/13/11 14,372 84,142
9 Major: Yujo No Winning Shot (jp) 10/20/11 7,085 8,251
10 War of the Arrows Director's Cut 5,256 6,290
- Couples       11/3/11 4,430 6,126
- War of the Arrows       8/10/11 3,810 7,451,344
- Fighting Spirit       10/6/11 2,558 209,104
- Leafie, A Hen Into the Wild       7/27/11 1,359 2,197,866


A Korean film reclaimed the top spot this weekend, but only by a very slim margin.  Once again business gained over last year's comparable frame, going up 50% to 1.59 million admissions.  The Korean market share also saw a healthy increase over last weekend, topping 60%, last year it was 50%.

The number one movie was Punch, which after getting good notices at the Busan International Film Festival and performing well in previews last weekend, opened to a solid 461,290.  Word of mouth will likely be strong, which means it could play well through November.  In recent years, Kim Yun-seok has turned into a massive force at the box office.  One of the few bankable stars remaining in Korea, his most recent features have all gone way past 2 million viewers: The Yellow Sea (2.42 million), Woochi (6.1 million), Running Turtle (3.05 million), and The Chaser (5.07 million). If Punch continues this trend, which it likely will, his streak is not likely to an end any time soon with the release of the much anticipated The Thieves just around the corner.

Coming a very close second this weekend was Real Steel in its sophomore frame with 453,322, down only 25%.  As around the rest of the world, the film seems to be playing well with families.  The Three Musketeers fell 64% for 99,595, it will likely fall far down the chart next weekend.  The only major Hollywood release was Paranormal Activity 3, which despite posting a franchise best opening in the US, opened to a small 49,321, about 30% of what the previous installment.  Major: Yujo No Winning Shot from Japan also opened low on the chart with 7,085.

Always seemed poised for a decent opening considering all the attention it received as BIFF's opening gala presentation and its promising previews last weekend but the negative buzz and critical savaging of the picture as already caught up to it.  It opened to a disappointing 268,422 and will likely exit the Top 10 swiftly.

The Client, which had been holding on to the number 2 spot for three weeks fell to number 4 with a 60% drop.  Its weekend haul of 115, 135 was enough for it clinch the last spot in the yearly top 10.  It may still have enough left in the tank to crawl up two more rungs and unseat Marrying the Mafia IV.

Silenced (aka The Crucible) took another big fall this weekend (67%) as the media attention it had been receiving has died down, it added 80, 528 to its total.  I wonder whether it could still move up to number 3 for the year by topping Detective K's total.

Hit came in at number 8 with 14,372 after seeing two thirds of its theater count slashed. Rounding out the top 10 was the director's cut of War of the Arrows which opened in select locations to 5,256.  The new cut may play wider depending on its performance but I think it is more likely to tour around different locations.


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, October 17, 2011

Korean Box Office Update (10/14-10/16, 2011)

Weekend of October 14-16, 2011:


Title Release Date Weekend Total
1 Real Steel (us) 10/12/11 590,043 789,230
2 The Client 9/29/11 282,910 2,013,874
3 The Three Musketeers (uk) 10/12/11 258,299 376,220
4 Silenced 9/22/11 235,977 4,331,176
5 Punch 10/20/11 56,116 65,408
6 Always 10/20/11 45,687 46,606
7 Fighting Spirit 10/6/11 29,617 192,831
8 Hit 10/13/11 21,284 29,041
9 War of the Arrows 8/10/11 19,810 7,430,360
10 Countdown 9/29/11 10,324 461,704
- Leafie, A Hen Into the Wild 27/7/11 1,300 2,195,700
- The Day He Arrives 8/9/11 510 42,983
- Ordinary Days 29/9/11 98 1,517
- Scars 13/10/11 81 132


After 11 weekends with a Korean release claiming the top spot at the box office, this week's usurper is Real Steel, Hollywood's new blockbuster which played well in previews last week.  This shouldn't come as too much of a surprise as there was no major Korean release this week and also given the fact that the year's other robot themed tentpole release is Korea's top grosser of the year (Transformers 3 with 7,790,426).

The Client clung to the number two spot for its third straight week with a 282,910 take.  This represents a drop slightly over 40% and puts into doubt whether it can join the 3 million club as it has only just cracked the two million mark.

Silenced (aka The Crucible) took another big tumble (52%) as its mass media exposure begins to fade.  It took 235,977 this weekend and dropped three places.  It had already crossed the four million mark before the weekend but its chances of cracking five look precarious, especially if it keeps suffering such steep falls.

Punch and Always were next at 56,116 and 45,687 respectively as they played in previews.  These are both strong figures for the recent Busan Film Fest features.  They open wide next week and will likely battle it out for first place.  Kim Sang-jin's Fighting Spirit took a big 70% dive after its lackluster opening.  It added 29,617 for a 192,831 total, a disappointing result and this may drop out of the top 10 as early as next week.

Hit, a new film starring Han Jae-suk also had a limited opening this past weekend but its 21,284 admissions does not bode well for its chances.  War of the Arrows added 19,810 admissions to its massive total which now stands at 7,430,360.  Finally Countdown crumbled again with 10,324 tickets sold.

This weekend's take amounted to 1.58 million tickets, a healthy increase over both last weekend (22.5%) and last year's comparable frame (50%).  The bad news is that that increase benefited a major Hollywood release.  Despite having 8 of the top 10 spots, this weekend's Korean market share was only 45%, down a little from last years's 55% but a lot from the last two weekend's 87% and 81%.  Somewhat ironic given that Busan just wrapped up. However the festival's releases will soon be inundating theaters and will likely post strong numbers.


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, October 10, 2011

Korean Box Office Update (10/07-10/09, 2011)

Weekend of October 7-9, 2011:

Title Release Date Weekend Total
1 The Crucible 9/22/11 447,049 3,743,065
2 The Client 9/29/11 395,973 1,456,121
3 Fighting Spirit 10/6/11 90,941 120,802
4 Real Steel (us) 10/12/11 73,738 74,127
5 Countdown 9/29/11 61,010 403,805
6 Arrow, The Ultimate Weapon 8/10/11 50,536 7,378,874
7 The Three Musketeers (uk) 10/12/11 41,083 45,537
8 The Debt (us) 10/6/11 31,606 37,922
9 From up on Poppy Hill (jp) 9/29/11 30,082 168,018
10 Mr. Popper's Penguins (us) 9/7/11 16,337 967,290
- Leafie, A Hen Into the Wild 7/27/11 3,952 2,193,214
- Punch 10/20/11 3,233 6,350
- Marrying the Mafia IV 9/7/11 2,535 2,362,103
- Sunny 5/4/11 1,332 7,373,387
- The Day He Arrives 9/8/11 508 40,451


Box office was down significantly this weekend with a total take of 1.29 million but this was still a strong figure given the time of year. This is now the 11th consecutive weekend that a Korean film has claimed the top spot at the box office. Indeed, Korean films dominated the marquees with 5 of the top 6 spots and an 81% market share. To put this in perpective, the same figures for the comparable weekends of the last 3 years were:

2010: 1.09 million adms. - 50%
2009: 1.06 million adms. - 70%
2008: 1.28 million adms. - 32%

The Crucible aka Silenced, which has inundated Korean media of late as the real-life figures it depicts are now under investigation, held onto its top spot. However, after last weekend's astonishing increase it tumbled 56%, this was still enough for a big 447,049 frame but its lead was much narrower than expected. It currently has 3,743,065 admissions and sits at no.4 on the yearly domestic chart, just after Detective K, which it will pass before long. I'm keen to see how it holds over the coming weeks, it should be the third film to cross 5 million in 2011 but I don't think it will have enough steam to challenge the top two spots.

The Client, which despite being completely overshadowed by The Crucible last weekend, had a strong opening weekend and has held very well in its second weekend of general release with a drop of 26%. This brings its total to 1,456,121 and it it continues to play well throughout October it should become the sixth Korean film of the year to cross 3 million admissions.

The sole local platform release this week was Fighting Spirit, Kim Sang-jin's new baseball comedy, it mustered a weak 90,941 opening weekend. Kim's films, which include Attack the Gas Station (1999), Kick the Moon (2001), Jailbreakers (2002), and Ghost House (2004), used to always wind up in the yearly top 5. 2009's Attack the Gas Station 2 was his first film since before Korean cinema's resurgence which failed to break the 1 million mark but Fighting Spirit, which has garnered decent reviews but sported a relatively tepid marketing campaign, looks to fall well short of the former's 731,426 total. It's sad to see one of Korean cinema's brightest embers start to fade away.

Countdown, which opened to lower than expected figures has suffered a precipitous fall (63%) and attracted a measly 61,010 viewers over the frame. It's total now stands at 403,805 but it will likely drop out of the top 10 very soon, maybe as early as next week. This is a disappointing performance from a well-received film which features two big stars, Jeon Do-yeon and Jeong Jae-yeong. Clearly, name recognition is not the drawing factor it used to be in Korean cinema.

Arrow, The Ultimate Weapon dropped 50% for a 50,536 total, this was enough for it to claim the top spot of the year over Sunny but only by 5,000. Despite all the huge blockbusters that held the weight of expectations on their shoulders like Sector 7, Quick, and The Front Line, this late summer entry which debuted with much less buzz than the previously mentioned films, has comfortably outpaced all of them. It has, in fact, more than doubled all of their totals. A great performance from a very well-reviewed film, considering Sector 7's calamitous flop, clearly Korean moviegoers are a discerning audience!

As for foreign releases, Real Steel, The Three Musketeers, and The Debt opened with 73,738, 41,083, and 31,606, respectively. Poor openings across the board as foreign films in recent months have failed to gain a foothold in Korea.

Looking ahead, there are a number of important local release during the rest of October. With the Busan International Film Fest in full swing, films like Always (which opened the event) and Punch are likely to gain extra exposure after their screenings. K-Pop film Mr. Idol will open at the end of the month and I am very curious to see how it performs, the hallyu element could be a significant draw but it may also bomb, we shall see.


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. 

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