Love Fiction and Ha Jung-woo Conquer the Marketplace
Title
Release Date
Market Share
Weekend
Total
Screens
1
Love Fiction
2/29/12
37.60%
567,529
1,013,532
615
2
This Means War (us)
2/29/12
13.90%
212,387
337,149
351
3
Nameless Gangster
2/2/12
12.90%
194,585
4,399,127
350
4
Howling
2/16/12
6.40%
103,240
1,531,667
372
5
Man on a Ledge (us)
2/22/12
4.50%
70,935
546,532
284
6
Safe House (us)
2/29/12
4.40%
70,148
115,418
291
7
Act of Valor (us)
2/29/12
3.50%
54,371
99,208
222
8
Dancing Queen
1/18/12
3.20%
51,315
3,966,611
220
9
Legends of Valhalla: Thor (ic)
2/9/12
2.50%
42,211
717,099
249
10
Hugo (us)
2/29/12
2.00%
22,400
40,418
85
The dominance of local films shows no signs of abating as yet another high profile Korean release has clinched the top spot. March is typically a very slow time for theaters but nevertheless over 1.5 million tickets were sold over the past weekend, a 20% increase over last year's similar frame. Meanwhile Korean films accounted for a very healthy 60% of business which more than doubled last year's result.
As predicted Love Fiction came in strong with a big first place finish as it sold 567,529 tickets and has already accumulated over a million admissions since its release. Ha Jung-woo has the distinction of starring in two of the chart's top three films and there is no question that he has become a significant draw for as top billing. Word of mouth seems decent on this pic and it should continue to do some strong business though competition will be very fierce with a number of high profile local and foreign releases opening in the coming weeks.
Hollywood romance-action film This Means War floundered in America so its 212,387 take here comes as a bit of a surprise though it is by no means an exceptional figure. In any case it won't last as it will likely crumble in its sophomore frame against heavy competition.
Nameless Gangster continues its strong run though it did slow 45% this past week as it wound up with another 194,585. It has 4.4 million admissions stacked way so far and it may struggle to reach the big 5 million milestone though stands a fighting chance of reaching the mark. It is certainly the early hit of 2012 and may be some time before another film unseats it at the top of the chart.
Howling meanwhile continues its disappointing performance as it dropped 60% for a 103,240 take. Word of mouth has been strong for the film but it got lost amidst so many unexpected hits in February. At this rate it may not even reach the 2 million threshold. After the failure of last year's Hindsight, could it be that Song Kang-ho's drawing power is fading?
Man on a Ledge crumbled over 70% in its sophomore frame as it added 70,935 tickets to its haul. Hollywood's Denzel Washington genre pic Safe House failed to find a mark as it opened with 70,148. Act of Valor, wich surprised in the US last week, didn't find an audience in Korea as it sold only 54,371 tickets during its opening.
Dancing Queen fell 65% as it added 51,315 admissions to its take. However, it should cross the 4 million mark in a few days and that is a very impressive achievement.
Icelandic animation film Legends of Valhalla: Thor finished with a 42,211 weekend for 9th place while Martin Scorsese's 3D pic Hugo disappointed as it took the 10th spot with a measly 22,400.
Next week there are no less than eight Korean films opening including the highly-anticipated Helpless which is getting some strong reviews. Meanwhile major Hollywood blockbuster John Carter will also be opening. I think Helpless will take the crown as the John Carter proprety is not in itself going to be a draw for local audiences. In any case Korean cinema looks to continue to do well and will likely do strong business throughout March.
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 Sunday evening or Monday morning (GMT+1) on Modern Korean Cinema. For other weekly features, take a look at Korean Cinema News and the Weekly Review Round-up. Reviews 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.
Bit of slow news week for Korean cinema but some interesting tidbits nonetheless, including some festival news and some new stills, posters and trailers for anticipated films.
KOREAN CINEMA NEWS
KOFIC to Re-open Seoul Media Center
The Korean Film Council is re-opening its media education institute, “Seoul Media Center,” in Chungmuro district in Pil-dong, Seoul, on Thursday, the organization said. The institute was first established as "Mediact" in 2002 on the fifth floor of the Ilmin Museum of Art building near Gwanghwamun, central Seoul. (The Korea Herald, February 22, 2012)
Florence Korea Film Fest to open with Always
The 10th Florence Korea Film Fest in Italy has announced it will open with Song Il-gon’s Always, last year’s Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) Opening Film. The festival will screen 32 feature films and 24 shorts during its nine-day run, and close with Kim Ki-duk’s Arirang, which made its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival last year. (KoBiz, February 24, 2012)
New Kim Ki-duk Film
Director Kim Ki-duk, producer of the film Rough Cut, is creating a second project called Actor's Cut. In a sequel to Rough Cut, which starred So Ji-sub and Kang Ji-hwan, the new movie is based on the collapse of a popular star actor. It is expected to express Kim's shocking and unique style. The distributor for the movie told "TV Report" on February 28th, "The cast hasn't been decided upon yet because we are still in the preparation process". (hancinema.net, February 28, 2012)
After a bit of a quiet stretch Korean director Kim Ki-duk is returning to the sort of gritty dark drama where he first made his name with the upcoming Pieta. Jo Min-soo and Lee Jeong-jin star in the director's eighteenth feature. (Twitch, February 28, 2012)
20th Century Fox to Directly Invest in Korean Film Industry
Film distributor 20th Century Fox has announced its plan to directly invest in the South Korean movie industry. As the first U.S. major film company to directly enter the South Korean market, Fox will produce five Korean movies, each costing up to five billion won, starting this year. The movies will be sold around the world through Fox’s own distribution network. (KBS, February 28, 2012)
Lee OK For Mr. K Nowhere to Hide (1999) director Lee Myung-se is to direct comedy spy action film Mr. K from next month, his first feature film in five years. The film will star Seol Gyeong-gu, Moon So-ri, Go Chang-seok and heart-throb Daniel Henney. The confused identity story sees a spy undercover in a foreign country while his wife, not knowing his disguise, also gets involved. (FilmBiz Asia, February 29, 2012)
Korean Films in the Hong Kong Film Festival
The 36th Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF) has announced their line-up to include five feature-length films from Korea - Choked, Stateless Things, Moving, From Seoul to Varanasi and The Day He Arrives. HKIFF has also produced and will premiere four short films under the collective title of Beautiful 2012. Korean director Kim Tae-yong (Late Autumn) joins China’s Gu Changwei, Taiwan’s Tsai Ming-Liang, and Hong Kong’s Ann Hui in this project. (KoBiZ, February 29, 2012)
INTERVIEW
E J-Yong Roundtable Interview
Prior to a KCCUK screening of Actresses, acclaimed director E J-Yong sat to down to a group interview with Hangul Celluloid, MiniMiniMovies, London Korea Links and Eastern Kicks. (Hangul Celluloid, February 23, 2012)
Korean Cinema News is a weekly feature which provides wide-ranging news coverage on Korean cinema, including but not limited to: features; festival news; interviews; industry news; trailers; posters; and box office. It appears every Wednesday morning (GMT+1) on Modern Korean Cinema. For other weekly features, take a look at the Korean Box Office Update and the Weekly Review Round-up. Reviews 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.
Nameless Gangster Fights Back During Close Weekend
Title
Release Date
Market Share
Weekend
Total
Screens
1
Nameless Gangster
2/2/12
22.10%
353,394
3,987,379
495
2
Howling
2/16/12
19.30%
330,321
1,237,340
467
3
Man On a Ledge (us)
2/22/12
15.70%
260,386
334,604
409
4
Dancing Queen
1/18/12
8.90%
152,620
3,820,406
344
5
Underworld 4 (us)
2/22/12
7.60%
101,695
138,798
343
6
Legends of Valhalla (is)
2/9/12
5.40%
96,310
578,744
293
7
The Iron Lady (uk)
2/23/12
2.90%
47,564
56,386
154
8
Tarbosaurus 3D
1/26/12
3.30%
44,462
958,933
161
9
The Grey (us)
2/16/12
2.50%
41,876
279,309
214
10
Legend of a Rabbit (ch)
2/22/12
2.30%
41,448
58,679
224
It was another nail-biter this past weekend as the top two films battled for first place. Overall business was down somewhat from last weekend and last year but on the plus side the domestic share remained strong as local films sold two out of every three tickets over the frame.
Nameless Gangster came out on top in the end with 353,394, its third chart-topping performance in four weeks. Even more good news is that the film will cross the four million mark on Monday and stands a a good chance of reaching another benchmark. It will face some competition in the coming weeks, mostly from more Korean releases, but things will get harder in March as new Hollywood male-skewing blockbusters will enter the marketplace.
Howling was a close number two with 330,321 but this represented an unimpressive 40% drop which, for a second weekend, typically means that the picture hasn't caught on. The film is well past the one million mark and will likely cross two before too long but is unlikely to go any further. Given the film's positive notices it's hard to see why the film didn't follow the success of the very recent Korean hits but perhaps that's just it. Too many local films found a big audience in a short time frame, which no one expected, making it difficult for even a solid release such as this one to squeeze out similar numbers.
Hollywood thriller Man On a Ledge opened with a decent 260,386 but will likely tumble down a few flights come next weekend.
Dancing Queen slipped another spot for 152,620 but was only off 15%. At this rate it will become the second release of the year to cross the four million mark within a week, after Nameless Gangster beats it to the milestone by a few days. A great performance though soon it will have to make way for new local products readying for release.
Underworld 4 barely registered with a 101,695 opening weekend but this comes as no surprise given that the franchise has not previously met with much success on the peninsula.
Icelandic animation Legends of Valhalla: Thor continued its unlikely run as it added another 96,310 to its modestly successful total.
Meryl Streep's The Iron Lady opened with 47,564, not too bad considering such a film would have limited appeal in Korea.
Korean animation Tarbosaurus 3D dropped another spot and nearly 40% for 44,462 but it looks set to become only the second Korean animation, after last year's Leafie, A Hen Into the Wild, to cross the one million admissions mark domestically.
Liam Neeson vehicle The Grey crumbled in its sophomore weekend, falling four rungs and losing 70% of its business for a tepid 41,876 take. The action pic is unlikely to register in the top 10 for a third weekend.
Chinese animation Legend of a Rabbit was a no-go as it debuted in tenth place with 41,448. Too many animation films lately meant that this one never really stood a chance.
Unbowed just missed the top 10 with 35,842 as it crossed 3.4 million admissions.
Next week's major release is the Ha Jung-woo and Kong Hyo-jin romcom Love Fiction. Ha is already riding high with Nameless Gangster and will likely end up as the lead of next weekend's top two films. The question is how well will his latest fare? I'm betting it will do quite well, perhaps pulling in over 500,000 admissions.
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 Sunday evening or Monday morning (GMT+1) on Modern Korean Cinema. For other weekly features, take a look at Korean Cinema News and the Weekly Review Round-up. Reviews 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.
Business stayed very strong this weekend as yet another big Korean release took the top spot though it was a close finish for first place. Two million tickets were sold over the frame and the overall market share for Korean films hit 70%, preserving a remarkable streak of recent domestic advantage.
Howling won the weekend as many expected it would but by a slimmer margin than expected. It's 530,291 opening was good but not remarkable. Though given the recent performances of films like Nameless Gangster and Unbowed, both of which strike similar demographics, perhaps this should come as no surprise. However, reviews have been strong so word of mouth may see Howling increase in its sophomore frame.
In its third weekend, Nameless Gangster came a close second with 498,920 admissions. Direct competition from Howling did lead to a 40% drop in business but it is still pulling in big numbers. Currently it is well over the three million admissions mark and will be knocking on the door of four million soon. It remains to be seen whether it can vie for five as well.
Dancing Queen also lost some steam in its fifth weekend as it wound up with 178,364. The Uhm Jeong-hwa and Hwang Jeong-min comedy is now over the 3.5 million mark and will attempt to cross four but this will not be an easy task. Regardless, the film has already been an enormous hit.
After its surprisingly good opening last weekend, Icelandic animated film Legends of Valhalla: Thor remained almost steady as it collected an additional 154,176 sales. The picture will easily cross half a million and could go further still. A good performance in any case but given the glut of children's films lately, it's interesting that this one came seemingly out of nowhere to outperform most of them.
Liam Neeson actioneer The Grey had a midlevel opening with 152,028. Hollywood is having a tough go as local competition targeting the same audiences have overwhelmed it.
Unbowed slipped three spots to number 6 and shed over 60% of its business in the process for a 96,598 weekend. The Ahn Sung-ki surprise hit has had a fantastic run and its total will soon cross the 3.5 million mark. From here on out it will begin to shed theaters quickly as exhibitors look to clear away space for new films.
Tarbosaurus 3D is inching closer to the one million mark (it would only be the second animation to cross it after last year's hit Leafie, A Hen Into the Wild) as it garnered some 71,608 viewers over the frame. It is still proving to be a very interesting time for Korean animation.
Two new US openers filled out slots 8 and 9, and both wer unable to entice audiences. Woman in Black started its run with a tepid 65,640 while Nic Cage superhero sequel Ghost Rider 3D was D.O.A. with 53,741.
Rounding out the chart was Papa, which added another 24,341 in its third weekend. The picture has crossed half a million but is a long way from being considered successful.
The only major release opening next weekend is Hollywood's Underworld 4 but the battle for first place will likely be waged between Howling and Nameless Gangster.
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 Sunday evening or Monday morning (GMT+1) on Modern Korean Cinema. For other weekly features, take a look at Korean Cinema News and the Weekly Review Round-up. Reviews 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.
Some good features this week and lots of news from the Berlin Film Festival as foreign rights to hot Korean films are getting snatched up. Lots more news, trailers, interviews, and posters as well.
KOREAN CINEMA NEWS
Finecut Unveils Another Film by Hong
South Korean sales company Finecut Co Ltd has released the first images from In Another Country, the new Hong Sang-soo film that it is representing. The film is the South Korean debut of leading French actress Isabelle Huppert. She plays three characters each with the same name who each visit the same seaside town and meet the same local residents. The rest of the cast, including Yu Jun-san, are South Korean, but much of the dialogue is in English. (Film Business Asia, February 15, 2012)
The Korea Media Rating Board (KMRB) denied the poster for the movie Gabi for the reason that Kim Min-hee's topless pose is too raunchy. Therefore, this poster can't be used in theaters or promotional uses. There have been other cases where posters like these have been denied. One it has been refused, the production has to go through the process of editing the poster and getting it re-examined by the KMRB. The posters are usually denied because they are too erotic. 2009 movie Thirst by Park Chan-wook was denied because it was too erotic and was only passed when the KMRB re-examined it after editing. (hancinema.net, February 8, 2012)
Popular Korean Films Reflecting Social Issues
Korean movies that tackle social issues head on have recently become the center of attention in the country. They not only portray reality, but also provoke discussions. Arirang News correspondent Park Ji-won analyzes two films that are now screening here in Korea, which are now raising questions about Korea's political and legal conditions. (arirang, February 8, 2012)
With the start of the new year, the Korean film industry looks to its brightest prospects. Kang Byeong-jin of Korean Cinema Today profiles eight highly anticipated films of 2012, including Ghost Sweeper, The Thieves, Korea, Howling, The Tower, The Masquerade King, and Hoogoong: Jaewang-eui chub. (Korean Cinema Today, February 7, 2012)
Tom Giammarco considers the history of sport in Korean film over on Seen in Jeonju. (Seen in Jeonju, February 5, 2012)
From Korea With Love
Bangkok-based writer and critic Kong Rithdee looks at the influence of Korean moving images in Thailand and gauges the depth of the Korean Wave. In late January, So Ji-sub and Han Hyo-ju walked down the red carpet at HuaHin International Film Festival, the inaugural edition of the cinefest held in Thailand’s popular resort town. (Korean Cinema Today, February 6, 2012)
Finecut Launches Sales on Kim Ki-duk’s Pieta
Seoul-based sales agent Finecut has picked up international rights to Pieta, the latest film from prolific Korean auteur Kim Ki-duk. Scheduled to start shooting this month, the film tells the story of a cruel loan shark, who believes he doesn’t have any family or loved ones, so has no need to fear when committing brutal acts. But one day a mysterious woman appears in his life claiming to be his mother. (Screen Daily, February 10, 2012)
Finecut Adds Grand Heist, Ghost Sweepers to Berlin Slate
Seoul-based sales company Finecut has picked up two new Korean genre films – $10m period action adventure The Grand Heist, and $5m comic action horror Ghost Sweepers. (Screen Daily, February 9, 2012)
Berlin 2012: Universal Pictures International Inks Multi-Territory Pact for My Way
Universal Pictures International Entertainment has taken multiple territories for the Korean war epic My Way, which has its world premiere Friday night at the Berlin international film festival. UPIE snagged rights in the U.K., Australia and New Zealand for the film, a World War II epic directed by Kang Je-Kyu and featuring Asian stars Odagiri Joe, Jang Dong-gun and Fan Bingbing. (The Hollywood Reporter, February 10, 2012)
Korea’s M-Line Opens Doomsday Book
Korea’s M-Line Distribution is launching sales on the sci-fi drama Doomsday Book, co-directed by Kim Jee-woon and Yim Pil-sung, at the EFM. The $5m film comprises three short stories – the first about a robot achieving enlightenment, the second about a zombie invasion and the third about a meteor wiping out mankind. (Screen Daily, February 11, 2012)
Korean Movies Reflecting Social Issues Fly High at the Box Office Dancing Queen, a comedy about a middle-aged married couple who each pursue their lost dreams, and Unbowed, a low-budget courtroom drama based on a true story, have both broken the 3-million mark of viewers in less than a month of their release. According to data compiled by the Korean Film Council, Dancing Queen and Unbowed attracted 3.09 million and 3 million viewers, respectively, as of Saturday since their release on Jan. 18. (The Korea Times, February 12, 2012)
Drama Producer Son Committed Suicide Jan. 21
Hit drama maker Son Moon-kwon committed suicide last month, a local daily recently reported. Family members told the Sports Chosun that Son hung himself Jan. 21 from a staircase at his house in Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province. He was 40 years old. Son was married to famed script writer Im Seong-han, 52. (hancinema.net, February 13, 2012)
Shout! Factory Takes Korean Creature Feature Sector 7
Shout! Factory announced today a multi-year agreement with CJ E&M, the leading film distribution and production company in Korea, to be the exclusive North American home entertainment distributor for two widely popular Korean motion pictures, including the creature feature Sector 7. (Shock Till You Drop, February 14, 2012)
INTERVIEWS
Director Kim Joong-hyeon
Ahead of its international premiere in the Berlinale Forum, director Kim Joong-hyeon talks about his debut feature film Choked with Kim Seong-hoon. A low-budget film made at the Korean Academy of Film Arts (KAFA), Kim Joong-hyeon’s Choked deals with economic troubles and the dissolution of the family in contemporary Korean society. The film made its world premiere in the Busan International Film Festival’s New Currents competition and is due for an international premiere in the Berlinale Forum section. (Korean Cinema Today, February 3, 2012)
Lee Na-young Faces Tough Challenge on New Movie
Actress Lee Na-young's latest film Howling, which will be released next Thursday, sees her take on the role of a rookie cop investigating a series of murders by a mysterious wolf-like creature. In this action-thriller, Lee flexes her muscles as a hard-nosed police detective and even rides a motorcycle. "This film had so many enticing factors. First of all, I wanted to play a part with many action scenes. Veteran actor Song Kang-ho was already cast, so I had an even stronger interest in it when I read the script," said Lee. (The Chosun Ilbo, February 11, 2012)
Korean Cinema News is a weekly feature which provides wide-ranging news coverage on Korean cinema, including but not limited to: features; festival news; interviews; industry news; trailers; posters; and box office. It appears every Wednesday morning (GMT+1) on Modern Korean Cinema. For other weekly features, take a look at the Korean Box Office Update and the Weekly Review Round-up. Reviews 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.
This past weekend was another exceptionally strong frame for local films as combined they took nearly 80% of the market share, up from 50% a year ago. Total admissions came in at just over two million which was a 25% increase on last year's comparable weekend.
Once again leading the charge was Nameless Gangster which barely dropped from its gigantic opening to record a 828,585 weekend which already puts it within inches of the 2.5 million mark. While it will likely lose a significant amount of business next weekend it's already a big success and will surely cross a few more landmarks during its run.
Dancing Queen moved up to number 2 this weekend with 282,560 which represented a tiny 15% drop. It is now well over the three million mark and could cross four before finishing its impressive run. It's going quite steady for the moment and should still remain competitive throughout the rest of the month.
Unbowed dropped to number 3 with a 40% drop that left it with 256,866. It has now also crossed the three million admissions mark and could vie for the next milestone but this could prove to be a difficult obstacle to overcome. The film has had an extraordinary run but with so much else crowding the theaters interested does seem to have waned so it will probably begin to wind up its run shortly.
Foreign animation Legends of Valhalla: Thor opened with a decent 198,414 but is unlikely to stay this high on the chart for long. Considering how many children's films have opened recently this seems like a good start.
Tarbosaurus 3D lost about half its business this weekend as it garnered another 116,742 admissions but it has now crossed the one million mark. This seems like a decent total for this kind of a film but I have no idea how much it cost or what its break-even point may be. In any case it has been a difficult period for animation lately with so many crowding the marquee.
Papa dropped a spot to number 6 in its sophomore weekend as it halved its take to 107,868. Not an impressive run but with so many quality offerings on offer its easy to see why a film with a slight and slightly perplexing premise could get lost in the mix. One million admissions is probably not on the cards.
Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace occupied the number 7 spot as it came out on rerelease with 59,278. At number 8 was Spielberg's new offering War Horse which sold 53,558 tickets. Meanwhile, the phenomenal Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy failed to attract many viewers as it attracted 44,042 viewers for number 9. Last Happy Feet 2 dropped like a stone after an abismal opening as it wound up with a paltry 35,368 admissions.
All eyes will be on the Ha Yu directed and Song Kang-ho starring Howling as it opens wide next weekend. Reviews have been excellent and anticipation is high but I wonder how the strong performance of the top three local films will affect its opening bow.
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 Sunday evening or Monday morning (GMT+1) on Modern Korean Cinema. For other weekly features, take a look at Korean Cinema News and the Weekly Review Round-up. Reviews 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.
