South Korea Box Office

[Olive]

Any other movies have potential to cross 10M adm this year?

[Quigley]

Star Wars 7?

[tupek]

A local movie.

[dropsicaldackel]

It's always very hard to foresee the next 10 million hit for Korea (expect for AGE OF ULTRON, as safe a bet as we've seen).

 

For foreign films, the most likely contender (baring surprise runs) is probably MI5, but I don't really see that happening. I don't think STAR WARS will come close, it's a property with little mileage in Korea, though it will certainly do well.

 

Most likely it'll be another Korean film. VETERAN has a slight shot, I've heard it's very good and Hwang Jung-min is hot off ODE TO MY FATHER. You can't count out Choi Dong-hoon and his new film ASSASSINATION looks like another winner with an array of popular stars. The combination of director Lee Joon-ik, Song Kang-ho and a story everyone knows will likely make THE THRONE the biggest Joseon Era film of the year (I'm guessing it's bow during Chuseok). Plenty of other local films could click, but those seem like the most surefire successes for the moment.

[Rsyu]

I don't really forsee any foreign releases beating Age of Ultron during the remainder of the calander year. MI5 will probably post the best numbers out of what's left but I see no reason why it should jump 2.5 million admissions over the already hugely successful MI4. SW might possibly do well but only if it turns out to be a great film in it's own right. Don't expect big numbers just "because it's Star Wars", it's not that big a brand in Korea. Even then it's highly unlikely it gets to 10 million admissions and I wouldn't be at all surprised if it does mediocre numbers. The most recent SW film, revenge of the sith only managed 1.7 million admissions or something.

Agree with drops about local films. Not sure about veteran but Assassins already looks like a dead cert. The Throne too, period films have been hit and miss (more miss) lately but this looks like it will be a hit. Really great cast in Song Kang-ho, Yu Ah-in and Moon Keung-yung so acting shouldn't be a problem. The director of The Throne also directed King and the Clown, another period film that hit 10 million admissions, so I have high hopes for this.

Edited May 19, 2015 by Rsyu

[Rsyu]

2 of the 3 that passed it though, you couldn't see in advance. So if something does pass 10M soon, it could just be another surprise breakout hit.

Yeah maybe, I don't see anything from this year though.

[xSabrinax]

 

At the other end of the spectrum, the undisputed box-office champion of 2009 was JK YOUN’s disaster movie Haeundae (Tidal Wave), which showcased Korea’s homegrown digital effects capabilities. Developing alongside the film industry, Korean effects houses (such as Digital Idea and Mofac Studio) were increasingly being sought to work on foreign feature and TV projects, from Rob Minkoff’s The Forbidden Kingdom (2008) and Jon Favreau’s Iron Man 2 (2010) to the recent Chinese 3-D fantasy The Monkey King and Daniel LEE’s period action filmDragon Blade.   

 Wow I was watching Haeundae this morning. I didn't even knew it was a box office success.

[Rsyu]

Wow I was watching Haeundae this morning. I didn't even knew it was a box office success.

Yeah it did 11.4M admissions. You wouldn't know it from watching it though, really overrated film.

[LexJoker]

SK is such an unpredictable market to very exciting to track. You never know which movie could breakout, and can never predict any movie's box office pattern.

[Rsyu]

VOD charts (January 2013~February 2015)

[# of Downloads]

01. 1,355,030 Frozen

02. 1,206,171 Face reader
03. 1,015,322 Masquerade
04.    993,158 Miracle in cell no.7

05.    916,934 Miss Granny

06.    906,846 Friend: The great Legacy
07.    865,107 Roaring Currents 
08.    854,851 New World

09.    687,443 Man on the edge
10.    678,669 The Pirates 

11.    599,000 Tazza: The Hidden Card NEW

12.    595,409 The Attorney

13.    588,845 The divine move
14.    564,870 The Fatal Encounter
15.    554,144 The Berlin File

16.    532,915 Kundo: Age of the Rampant NEW

17.    532,433 Secretly, Greatly

18.    513,663 A werewolf boy
19.    497,061 Iron Man 3
20.    487,940 Cold eyes

 

*Films that recorded less than 7,409 downloads for the month of Jan-Feb were not updated

Edited May 19, 2015 by Rsyu

[Rsyu]

Tuesday Box Office (May 19) 

 

-Admissions (Total adm)  Daily%  Gross  (weekly%)  [sC]    {wk}   <Title>
 
1.    92,004       (991,805)   -5.92%   $718K        (--)       [772]  {Wk2} <Mad Max: Fury Road>  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.    82,911     (1,035,051)  -10.1%   $582K        (--)       [731]  {Wk2} <The Chronicles of Evil>  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.    29,922    (10,089,289) -11.7%   $210K   (-59.3%)   [565]  {Wk5} <The Avengers: Age of Ultron>   
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
4.    10,862     (1,445,661)  -7.15%   $75K     (-73.4%)   [331]  {Wk4} <Coin Locker Girl>  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

5.      3,719        (36,969)   +2.73%   $25K          (--)       [222]  {Wk2} <While we're young> 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Total admissions: 240,351
Total Gross: $1,743,248
May Total: $81,287,527

Cumulative gross
The Avengers: Age of Ultron: $79.34 million

The Chronicles of Evil: $7.6 million

Mad Max: Fury Road: $8.1 million

 

Current presales (7:30AM)

01. 32.9% (40,026) Mad Max: Fury Road
02. 16.1% (19,588) The Treacherous
03. 14.0% (16,966) The Chronicles of Evil
04. 11.3% (13,784) Spy
05.   7.0%   (8,535) The Avengers: Age of Ultron

 

[xSabrinax]

Yeah it did 11.4M admissions. You wouldn't know it from watching it though, really overrated film.

Well, it's a local film with "hollywood" effects. I think that's why it was huge.

 

Brazil has never done something like this.

[Rsyu]

Well, it's a local film with "hollywood" effects. I think that's why it was huge.

Brazil has never done something like this.

I guess so but I think the disaster movie elements probably appealed to the general audience more, it's a very popular theme over here. The visual effects itself wasn't too bad for a Korean film although there have been better, Mr. go being one of them.

Just to expand/digress on that point for a moment, The CG effects in the film Mr. Go came mainly down to Jung Sung-jin, the visual effects supervisor, who is probabaly one of the most talented in his area of expertise working in Korea film industry right now. I believe he was also part of the team that helped create the whal in the local film hit The Pirates last year. CG is still a really weak part of Korean films probably at least 10-15 years behind hollywood. Hopefully this guy and guys like him working in that field can help reduce the gap.

Edited May 20, 2015 by Rsyu

[dropsicaldackel]

I guess so but I think the disaster movie elements probably appealed to the general audience more, it's a very popular theme over here. The visual effects itself wasn't too bad for a Korean film although there have been better, Mr. go being one of them.

Just to expand/digress on that point for a moment, The CG effects in the film Mr. Go came mainly down to Jung Sung-jin, the visual effects supervisor, who is probabaly one of the most talented in his area of expertise working in Korea film industry right now. I believe he was also part of the team that helped create the whal in the local film hit The Pirates last year. CG is still a really weak part of Korean films probably at least 10-15 years behind hollywood. Hopefully this guy and guys like him working in that field can help reduce the gap.

 

Korea's still a ways behind Hollywood but definitely leading the field in Asia. Visual effect artists are in high demand, particularly in China. MR. GO (a Showbox title which was co-produced with Chinese studio Huyai Bros) launched the VFX company Dexter Studios (founded by Jung Sung-jin and the film's director Kim Yong-hwa) which is now one of the major players for Chinese blockbuster effects. They've worked on YOUNG DETECTIVE DEE, THE MONKEY KING (the gorilla in that is the same design as MR. GO) and THE TAKING OF TIGER MOUNTAIN. And they're just one of many companies, as an example, THE MONKEY KING employed the services of 11 Korean VFX outfits.

 

Another revealing stat is that last year the Korean film industry made more money exporting its VFX services than it did selling its films around the world...

[eXtacy]

Two days in a row above opening day admissions, so could we maybe see it stay flat this upcoming weekend?

Edited May 20, 2015 by eXtacy

[Rsyu]

Korea's still a ways behind Hollywood but definitely leading the field in Asia. Visual effect artists are in high demand, particularly in China. MR. GO (a Showbox title which was co-produced with Chinese studio Huyai Bros) launched the VFX company Dexter Studios (founded by Jung Sung-jin and the film's director Kim Yong-hwa) which is now one of the major players for Chinese blockbuster effects. They've worked on YOUNG DETECTIVE DEE, THE MONKEY KING (the gorilla in that is the same design as MR. GO) and THE TAKING OF TIGER MOUNTAIN. And they're just one of many companies, as an example, THE MONKEY KING employed the services of 11 Korean VFX outfits.

Another revealing stat is that last year the Korean film industry made more money exporting its VFX services than it did selling its films around the world...

Nice, I knew about dexter studios and the close ties with China but didn't know the extent of demand for Korean VFX services. Maybe then the problem is more the limited budget of films more than anything else. Hollywood can afford to have big budgets because they export their products globally. Korean films have no where near the same demand so have to make do with limited budgets to see a profit.

[Rsyu]

Two days in a row above opening day admissions, so could we maybe see it stay flat this upcoming weekend?

It's promising but numbers should dip a little with new releases so we'll have to see Thursday number before saying more.

[dropsicaldackel]

It's promising but numbers should dip a little with new releases so we'll have to see Thursday number before saying more.

 

Not sure if it can stay flat, but should definitely keep most of its audience. I also think it'll top the weekend. THE TREACHEROUS is not faring too well in presales, I think audiences are a touch tired of period films. Plus, it's rubbish!

[Rsyu]

Not sure if it can stay flat, but should definitely keep most of its audience. I also think it'll top the weekend. THE TREACHEROUS is not faring too well in presales, I think audiences are a touch tired of period films. Plus, it's rubbish!

More than a touch. It looks like a carbon copy film of Empire of Lust which opened just a few months ago. Do these films even turn a profit?

[dropsicaldackel]

More than a touch. It looks like a carbon copy film of Empire of Lust which opened just a few months ago. Do these films even turn a profit?

 

Yeah, it's definitely similar and audiences are going to pick on that. And no, these films are losing tons. EMPIRE OF LUST must have written off at least $8 million.