KBO: Masquerade Still Top After Enormous Holiday Week (10/05-10/07, 2012)

Masquerade Still Top After Enormous Holiday Week

	Title	Release Date	Market Share	Weekend	Total	Screens
1	Masquerade	9/13/12	48.00%	849,999	8,220,479	867
2	Taken 2 (us)	9/27/12	16.20%	271,598	2,094,497	507
3	Ghost Sweepers	10/3/12	14.80%	264,961	617,456	479
4	Brave (us)	9/27/12	10.40%	188,398	963,115	478
5	Spy	9/20/12	4.10%	73,413	1,255,749	296
6	Ted (us)	9/27/12	3.00%	49,642	217,239	204
7	Wolf Children (jp)	9/13/12	1.30%	24,286	297,537	124
8	Tad the Lost Explorer (us)	9/20/12	0.50%	10,432	202,045	96
9	Take This Waltz (ca)	9/27/12	0.40%	6,291	19,412	22
10	13 (us)	10/3/12	0.30%	5,760	8,670	108

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KBO: Masquerade Lords Over Chuseok Holiday (09/28-09/30, 2012)

Masquerade Lords Over Chuseok Holiday

	Title	Release Date	Market Share	Weekend	Total	Screens
1	Masquerade	9/13/12	47.70%	1,379,364	5,234,423	935
2	Taken 2 (us)	9/27/12	27.80%	776,843	962,350	682
3	Spy	9/20/12	9.30%	275,007	840,498	454
4	Brave (us)	9/27/12	7.40%	208,613	223,901	435
5	Ted (us)	9/27/12	2.40%	66,326	83,150	248
6	Ghost Sweepers	10/3/12	1.60%	48,271	53,628	176
7	Wolf Children (jp)	9/13/12	0.90%	28,266	217,147	145
8	Tad the Lost Explorer (us)	9/20/12	0.70%	20,515	127,868	194
9	Pieta	9/6/12	0.60%	18,365	570,949	142
10	Resident Evil 5 (us)	9/13/12	0.40%	10,870	550,480	132

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WKR: Masquerade and Coverage from MoMA's Yeonghwa Screenings (09/22-09/28, 2012)

Sorry for the delay for this week's Korean review round-up. I'm transitioning from on job to another, moving out of my apartment, and getting ready for Busan. On that note, there will be no weekly updates during the festival, they will be retroactively added later in October.

Thanks for your understanding!

CURRENT FILMS

Masquerade

(allkpop.com, September 22, 2012)

(Film Journal, September 25, 2012)

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KCN: A Bittersweet Life Gets US Remake, Pieta Sales and a Boatload of Posters (09/20-09/26, 2012)

It's been a very busy week here in Korea as I'm switching jobs, moving, preparing for Busan and have lost my phone so apologies for the slower pace of articles and this abbreviated version of Korean Cinema News. 

KOREAN CINEMA NEWS

A Bittersweet Life to Be Remade, Albert Hughes Takes the Reigns
One half of the directing duo behing Menace II Society, From Hell and The Book of Eli, Albert Hughes, is set to direct a fast-tracked remake of the seminal Korean gangster film A Bittersweet Life. Anthony Peckham, recently behind Invictusand Sherlock Holmes, has been brought in to polish the script. No word yet on cast or possible release date.

There's been a awful lot of news surrounding Korean films being remade in Hollywood or Korean directors making their mark in Tinseltown lately but this is one development I can't get excited about. I'm generally not a fan of foreign films being remade (much less Korean ones) so I'm not one of the people who is excited for Spike Lee's take on Oldboy. However, I do recognize the potential that such an original premise has in a new market. The same goes for the upcoming remake of Castaway on the Moon, one of the very best films made in the last decade. Last I heard, Mark Waters (of Mr. Popper's Penguins fame) was at the helm, and while I don't think that'll amount to much I do concede that it is property with a fantastic premise, ripe for the remake treatment.

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KBO: Masquerade Still King (09/21-09/23, 2012)

Masquerade Still King

	Title	Release Date	Market Share	Weekend	Total	Screens
1	Masquerade	9/13/12	60.50%	1,192,689	3,227,946	922
2	Spy	9/20/12	16.80%	341,696	415,422	576
3	Resident Evil 5 (us)	9/13/12	5.70%	101,271	501,391	331
4	Ted (us)	9/20/12	3.90%	81,313	100,920	301
5	Pieta	9/6/12	3.50%	69,518	505,744	292
6	Wolf Children (jp)	9/13/12	2.90%	61,269	169,760	220
7	The Bourne Legacy (us)	9/6/12	2.10%	39,773	998,212	262
8	Traffickers	8/29/12	1.90%	36,518	1,618,528	192
9	The Thieves	7/25/12	0.40%	6,969	12,944,840	86
10	London Boulevard (uk)	9/20/12	0.30%	6,735	11,617	131

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WKR: Masquerade and Bounty of Recent Releases (09/15-09/21, 2012)

Lee Byung-Hyun's smash hit period pic Masquerade gets a number of reviews this week while a wide selection of recent Korean films gets covered all around the world, from DVD and cinema releases to TIFF, Zipangu and Yeonghwa: Korean Cinema Today coverage.

CURRENT FILMS

Masquerade

(Modern Korean Cinema, September 17, 2012)

(Seongyong's Private Place, September 14, 2012)

(The Los Angeles Times, September 20, 2012)

Pieta

(Film School Rejects, September 20, 2012)

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KCN: New Park Chan-wook Project, Pieta Oscar Bid, BIFF Sched. & Thieves Triumphs in HK (09/13-09/19, 2012)

Lots of news this week as Park Chan-wook takes on yet another new film, BIFF announces its schedule, Pieta gets its chance for Oscar glory and The Thieves begins its world conquest.

KOREAN CINEMA NEWS

Park Chan-wook Signs Onto Another New Project with Gangster Pic Corsica '72

Only a few weeks after signing on to the western The Brigands of Rattleborge, Park Chan-wook has taken on an additional Hollywood gig. This new project is one that has been knocking around for a while after appearing on Hollywood's Black List (a yearly industry poll of tinseltown's best unproduced screenplays) in 2009. Previously Oliver Hirschbiegel (Downfall, 2006) and Luca Guadanigno (I Am Love, 2009) had been attached to the script by the scribes Neal Purvis and Robert Wade who have been involved in all the recent Bond films.

Corsica '72, as the title would suggest, takes place on the small mediterranean island and follows two best friends who grow up to find themselves on opposite sides of the law and in love with the same woman.

It seems that this project will go ahead of Rattleborge as that one will require more time for casting due to its violent nature. It's great to see Park so busy these days but personally I was hoping he would head back home to helm another feature in Korea rather than do three on the trot stateside. But who am I to complain when I now have three films to look forward to from one of the world's best filmmakers? (Modern Korean Cinema, September 18/Twitch, September 18, 2012)

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Masquerade (광해, 왕이 된 남자, Gwang-hae, Wang-i Doin Nam-ja) 2012

by Simon McEnteggart

Mark Twain's seminal novel 'The Prince and the Pauper' has long endured as a classic for the manner in which it exposed the gulf between the upper and lower classes. The trials and tribulations that Prince Edward and Tom Canty undertake allowed Twain to explore the vast lifestyle differences amongst the 'haves' and 'have nots', with each protagonist utilising their prior experiences to emphasise the hardships and the unfairness evident in both. As a result the story has resonated with audiences of all socio-economic backgrounds, and in today's financial climate, it is perhaps more relevant than ever before.

With Masquerade, screenwriter Hwang Jo-yoon has adapted Twain's novel to Joseon dynasty Korea, with the case of mistaken identity transferred to King Gwang-hae and a lowly comic actor. With its well-structured and highly entertaining script, confident direction from Choo Chang-min and an enthralling set of performances headed by Lee Byeong-heon, Masquerade is without a doubt one of the best films of the year and a testament to the quality of Korea's period dramas.

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KBO: Masquerade Is King, Pieta Enjoys Golden Lion Bump (09/14-09/16, 2012)

Masquerade Is King, Pieta Enjoys Golden Lion Bump 

	Title	Release Date	Market Share	Weekend	Total	Screens
1	Masquerade	9/13/12	53.30%	1,097,619	1,278,064	809
2	Resident Evil 5 (us)	9/13/12	14.30%	245,915	304,150	368
3	Pieta	9/6/12	7.20%	148,163	353,379	325
4	The Bourne Legacy (us)	9/6/12	6.50%	135,767	913,877	345
5	Traffickers	8/29/12	4.60%	92,289	1,534,579	305
6	Wolf Children (jp)	9/13/12	3.40%	77,796	85,933	225
7	The Expendables 2 (us)	9/6/12	2.50%	53,444	416,236	253
8	Neighbors	8/22/12	2.00%	40,285	2,416,188	222
9	The Thieves	7/25/12	1.50%	32,033	12,923,537	194
10	Insidious (us)	9/13/12	1.30%	27,488	35,030	178

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CinDi 2012: Masquerade (가면놀이) 2010

Part of MKC's Coverage of the 6th Cinema Digital Seoul Film Festival.

Let me get this right out of the way first, this is NOT about the brand new Lee Byung-hun period pic of the same title which came out in Korean theaters today. My timing may not great, but so be it.

I knew Masquerade was a documentary and based on the one still that was attached to it in the CinDi program. I assumed it had something to do with pantomine or some sort of performance. To say that I was way off the mark would be something of a cataclysmic understatement. Nestled among a crowd of mostly young women, I grew somewhat uncomfortable when the narrative revealed itself to me for the first time. You see, Masquerade is a hard-hitting film about child abuse in Korea and how it is often ignored by society at large.

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KBO: Hollywood Titles End Late Summer Local Streak (09/07-09/09, 2012)

Hollywood Titles End Late Summer Local Streak

	Title	Release Date	Market Share	Weekend	Total	Screens
1	The Bourne Legacy (us)	9/6/12	29.30%	522,713	619,128	588
2	Traffickers	8/29/12	17.60%	302,258	1,315,355	385
3	The Expendables 2 (us)	9/6/12	13.30%	240,675	278,494	394
4	Neighbors	8/22/12	12.00%	206,259	2,298,476	346
5	The Grand Heist	8/8/12	7.70%	144,076	4,833,965	312
6	The Thieves	7/25/12	7.20%	129,060	12,836,869	323
7	Pieta	8/6/12	3.30%	58,061	68,090	171
8	Step Up 4 (us)	8/15/12	2.50%	45,369	931,745	149
9	Abrahama Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (us)	8/30/12	1.90%	31,749	333,276	230
10	Sammy's Adventures 2 (ge)	8/1/12	0.80%	14,750	1,454,392	107

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September 2012 Korean Releases

This monthly features previews the coming month's attractions in Korean cinema. All of these monthly posts are available in an archive on the Upcoming Releases page.

September 6

Grape Candy
Pieta
Wedding Scandal

September 13

Fighting! Family
Han Kyung-jik
Too Old Hiphop Kid

September 20

Masquerade

September 27

Jinsuk and Me

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KCN: Korean Films to TIFF, Thieves Still King (08/09-08/15, 2012)

Not an enormous amount of news this week. Toronto has announced some Korean films in its lineup, The Thieves continues its extraordinary box office run and a number of trailers and posters this week.

KOREAN CINEMA NEWS

Three Korean Films Set for Toronto

The Toronto International Film Festival, arguably the world's biggest film event (if not quite as glitzy as Cannes), returns next month and this year a trio of Korean films have been invited. The sophomore effort from Jo Sung-hee (End of Animal; 2010), A Werewolf Boy will screen in the Contemporary World Cinema section along with Juvenile Offender by Kang Ji-kwan and current blockbuster The Thieves from Choi Dong-hun. (Modern Korean Cinema, August 15, 2012)

R2B Presells to 30 Markets

The Rain-starring aviation blockbuster R2B: Return to Base, has presold to 30 territories, including: England, Germany, France, Switzerland, Belgium, Austria, Canada, Thailand, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Monaco, India, Turkey & Mongolia. The film is a remake of the Korean classic Red Scarf (1964) but by all accounts it seems to fall far more in line with Top Gun (1986). (Modern Korean Cinema, August 15, 2012)

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