Korean Box Office Report - December 16/18

The 20 Billion Won film, the most expensive Korean film of all time, was released on over 500 screens nationwide, more than a third of the total. Given such large release, you could say the result is almost a given, but it’ll be interesting to see how things evolve in the next few weeks. Remember that while both ‘Taegukgi’ and 실미도 (Silmido) received some criticism from the press, they always had good word of mouth from the public. First reactions online seem positive, at least for those who just expected a blockbuster. But if the major complaint about the film—that of being a rather stiff and somber Korean version of a Hollywood blockbuster—extends to the public as well, it’s very likely the 10 Million records of Kang Je-Gyu and Kang Woo-Suk’s films will be only a mirage. At the end of the day, what’s important in creating the right atmosphere for a success is marketing, and it seems CJ Entertainment is doing things the right way: they’re pushing the Koreanness of the film, but also aspects of the film similar to Hollywood blockbusters (impressive action and locations), which at the end is what is making them win the war against another film about a big, angry ape.

King Kong. A dream project for Peter Jackson, and most likely a big scare for most Korean majors. But its first weekend was rather underwhelming, not only because of ‘Typhoon’ and its enormous success. With almost 200 screens less than Kwak’s film, the film sold 210,000 tickets in Seoul and 640,000 nationwide during the weekend, for a total of 850,000. The difference here, as I said, is mostly down to different distribution scales, but also the fact Jackson’s film is much longer, with less screenings per day. Meanwhile, Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire strongly slowed down, but it was able to reach the 3 Million tickets mark. With 284 screens nationwide, the film sold 358,000 tickets nationwide this weekend, a similar result compared to what the latest Harry Potter was making after three weeks—the film sold a total of 4.3 Million tickets. I’d say the chances of both films reaching the five Million tickets are pretty slim, but both should get close to the 4/4.5 Million before the end of the year.

Outside the big giants, which commanded 3/4 of the nation’s screens, the only film to make any impact was the romantic comedy 광식이 동생 광태 (When Romance Meets Destiny), which is still enjoying a 200 screen release. The film, starring Bong Tae-Gyu and Kim Ju-Hyeok, sold almost 100,000 tickets nationwide this weekend, and finally entered the Top 10 of the year, as expected. A very unexpected, and pleasant result for MK Pictures, especially because it’s their first independent distribution. Other films on release were nearly invisible, with 애인 (The Intimate) reaching the 100,000 tickets, and all the others quietly selling a few thousand tickets.

Next week should be more or less the same, with a possible exception: Son Ye-Jin and Song Il-Guk’s sexy comedy 작업의 정석 (The Art of Seduction) did quite well in advanced screenings, selling around 30,000 tickets. The film was welcomed with pretty good reviews—even though reaction was all over the place—and if word of mouth spreads a little, the film could achieve a decent result. ‘The Art of Seduction’ is leading the pre-order sales ranking at Interpark already, with its 39.3% beating ‘Typhoon’ and ‘King Kong’. Although it’s Song Hye-Gyo’s film debut, the melodrama 파랑주의보 (My Girl & I) shouldn’t make much noise: reviews weren’t completely negative, but it was more of the same, which in time for Christmas could be enough, but there’s too much competition. Nothing much of note other than those films, if not for a group of excellent old French films, like Truffaut’s Jules & Jim and Godard’s Vivre Sa Vie from the same year.

[Sources: Star News 1, Star News 2, Yahoo Korea, Film2.0, nKino, Yonhap News, Goodday Entertainment]

Box Office Top 10 - Weekend of December 16~18 (Seoul)

01.
태풍 (Typhoon)
2005 KOREA - dir. Kwak Kyung-Taek [Cast: Jang Dong-Gun, Lee Jung-Jae]
Distributed By CJ Entertainment - 43.2% Share - 2,704 Per Screen Avg. - 540 Screens
1,801,000 Tickets Sold Nationwide

02.
King Kong
2005 NZ/US - dir. Peter Jackson [Cast: Jack Black, Naomi Watts]
Distributed By UIP - 29.6% Share - 2,290 Per Screen Avg. - 354 Screens
850,000 Tickets Sold Nationwide

3.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
2005 UK/USA - dir. Mike Newell [Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Eric Sykes]
Distributed By Warner Brothers Korea - 17.3% Share - 1,563 Per Screen Avg. - 284 Screens
3,025,700 Tickets Sold Nationwide

4.

광식이 동생 광태 (When Romance Meets Destiny)
2005 KOREA - dir. Kim Hyun-Seok [Cast: Kim Joo-Hyeok, Bong Tae-Gyu]
Distributed by MK Pictures - 4.4% Share - 736 Per Screen Avg. - 200 Screens
2,348,000 Tickets Sold Nationwide

5.
The Family Stone
2005 USA - dir. Thomas Bezucha [Cast: Claire Danes, Diane Keaton]
Distributed By Fox Korea - 2.6% Share - 958 Per Screen Avg. - 100 Screens

6.
Prime
2005 USA - dir. Ben Younger [Cast: Uma Thurman, Meryl Streep]
Distributed By Tube Entertainment - 1.2% Share - 486 Per Screen Avg. - 71 Screens
224,468 Tickets Sold Nationwide

7.
나의 결혼원정기 (Wedding Campaign)
2005 KOREA - dir. Hwang Byung-Guk [Cast: Jung Jae-Young, Soo Ae]
Distributed By Lotte Entertainment - 0.7% Share - 495 Per Screen Avg. - 36 Screens
767,057 Tickets Sold Nationwide

8.
6월의 일기 (Bystanders)
2005 KOREA - dir. Im Kyung-Soo [Cast: Shin Eun-Kyung, Moon Jung-Hyuk]
Distributed By Showbox - 0.3% Share - 349 Per Screen Avg. - 93 Screens
685,000 Tickets Sold Nationwide

9.
Broken Flowers
2005 USA - dir. Jim Jarmusch [Cast: Bill Murray, Julie Delpy]
Distributed By Sponge - 0.2% Share - 919 Per Screen Avg. - 2 Screens

10.
애인 (The Intimate)
2005 KOREA - dir. Kim Tae-Eun [Cast: Sung Hyun-Ah, Jo Dong-Hyuk]
Distributed By Showbox - 0.1% - 121 Per Screen Avg.
120,000 Tickets Sold Nationwide

2005 Box Office Top 10 (Korean Films)

01. 웰컴 투 동막골 (Welcome To Dongmakgol) - 8,002,594
02. 가문의 위기 (Marrying The Mafia 2) - 5,663,000
03. 말아톤 (Marathon) - 5,179,154
04. 공공의 적 2 (Another Public Enemy) - 3,910,000
05. 친절한 금자씨 (Sympathy For Lady Vengeance) - 3,560,000
06. 너는 내 운명 (You Are My Sunshine) - 3,070,000
07. 마파도 (Mapado) - 3,020,000
08. 내 생애 가장 아름다운 일주일 (All For Love) - 2,545,000
09. 박수칠 때 떠나라 (Murder, Take One) - 2,480,000
10. 광식이 동생 광태 (When Romance Meets Destiny) - 2,348,000

All Time Box Office Top 10 (Korean Films)

01. 태극기 휘날리며 (Taegukgi) - 11,746,135 [2004]
02. 실미도 (Silmido) - 11,074,000 [2003]
03. 친구 (Friend) - 8,180,000 [2001]
04. 웰컴 투 동막골 (Welcome To Dongmakgol) - 8,002,594 [2005]
05. 쉬리 (Shiri) - 6,210,000 [1999]
06. 공동경비구역 JSA (Joint Security Area) - 5,830,000 [2000]
07. 가문의 위기 (Marrying The Mafia 2) - 5,663,000 [2005]
08. 조폭 마누라 (My Wife is a Gangster) - 5,250,000 [2001]
09. 가문의 영광 (Marrying the Mafia) - 5,200,001 [2002]
10. 말아톤 (Marathon) - 5,179,154 [2005]