A still from "The King's Warden" [Showbox]
A still from "The King's Warden" [Showbox]

"The mood at movie theaters these days is anything but ordinary. As if to mock fears that the era of cinema was over, South Korea's theaters staged a record-breaking comeback in the first half of this year."

Domestic movie theaters recorded a sharp recovery in the first half of this year, with both admissions and sales rising significantly from the same period last year. Unlike last year, when blockbusters were concentrated in the second half, this year saw a 10-million-admission film emerge as early as the first half, with a string of major hits breathing new life into a long-sluggish industry.

By far the biggest contributor to the rebound was director Jang Hang-jun's "The King's Warden." The film drew about 16.9 million cumulative admissions, claiming the No. 2 spot among the highest-grossing Korean films of all time and powerfully driving growth across the entire market.

According to the Korean Box Office Information System (KOBIS) on Sunday, the total number of films released from January through June this year was 217, slightly down from 240 last year. Admissions, however, exploded. First-half admissions for Korean films reached about 37.37 million, a 74.9% jump from about 21.36 million in the same period last year. Sales also surged 81.7%, rising from 203.7 billion won ($131 million) to 370.2 billion won. Fewer films opened, but a handful of surefire hits dominated the box office.

Only one film surpassed 5 million admissions in the first half of last year — "F1: The Movie," with about 5.21 million — and no film crossed the 10 million mark. This year, by contrast, "Goonche" cleared 5 million admissions, and the market produced a record-breaking 10-million-admission film on top of that.

However, the number of mid-to-upper-tier hits — those drawing at least 3 million admissions — edged down from four last year to three this year: "The King's Warden," "Goonche" and "Salmokji." The middle tier remained roughly comparable in depth, but a single mega-hit expanded the overall size of the market.

Film critic Yun Seong-eun said the significance of a 10-million-admission film returning was enormous in itself. "A virtuous cycle is taking shape, with 'The King's Warden' driving first-half sales and drawing audiences back to theaters," she said, adding that investor sentiment is also gradually reviving — a positive signal that the industry is recovering.

Some observers note that the base effect may be somewhat overstated, given that most of last year's hits — including "Zootopia 2," "Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Fortress" and "Zombie Daughter" — were concentrated in the second half.

Film critic Jeong Ji-uk acknowledged that the box office drought in the first half of last year was real, but said "The King's Warden" had unmistakably reversed the long-depressed mood in theaters. "That alone makes it deeply meaningful," he said.

Attention now turns to the second-half lineup that will need to sustain the first half's momentum. The immediate question is whether director Na Hong-jin's new film "Hope," opening July 15, will carry the baton.

"Hope" is Na's first film in 10 years since "The Wailing" (2016) and has generated wide global anticipation. It earned early attention after being selected for competition at the 79th Cannes International Film Festival, and boasts a cast that includes Hwang Jung-min, Jo In-sung and Jung Ho-yeon alongside Hollywood stars Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander. The film has already been pre-sold in more than 200 countries before its opening, recouping roughly half of its net production cost ahead of release.

Critic Yun said "Hope's" box office performance would be the decisive factor shaping the direction of the Korean film industry in the second half. "With the number of releases this year limited by investor sentiment that has yet to fully recover, the stakes riding on a mega-title like 'Hope' are very high," she said.


attom@heraldcorp.com