Park, a worker in his 30s from Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, took a day off Tuesday to visit Yongsan IPark Mall to see "Odyssey." For weeks he had checked the ticketing app every evening after work, hunting for cancellations at the Yongsan IMAX auditorium — known by its nickname "Yongamaek" — before finally securing a seat. "Everyone says 'Odyssey' has to be seen in IMAX, so here I am," he said. "The film ends at an awkward time, so I'm planning to grab a quick meal before heading home."
Movie theaters are posting their sharpest recovery since the COVID-19 pandemic, and the retail industry is reaping the rewards. The box-office success of the recently released "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" and "Odyssey" has driven a strong rise in foot traffic and sales at shopping malls and department stores that house cinemas.
CGV Yongsan IPark Mall was packed with moviegoers Wednesday afternoon despite it being a weekday. The venue's IMAX auditorium, widely regarded as a premier IMAX destination, has been selling out consistently, led by "Odyssey." All 624 seats were sold out, as confirmed at the box office that day.
According to IPark Mall, the retail arm of HDC Group, sales at its Yongsan location rose 30.1 percent year-on-year from Aug. 1 to Tuesday. Fashion sales surged 39.7 percent, while living goods climbed 29.8 percent and food and beverage revenue grew 24.3 percent. The gains reflect a combination of rising indoor shopping demand driven by the heat wave and moviegoers dining and shopping within the mall after catching a film.
Over the same period, Lotte World Mall in Jamsil — which houses 20 Lotte Cinema screens — saw sales jump 40 percent year-on-year, with foot traffic up 30 percent. During the holiday stretch from Saturday to Tuesday, sales jumped 70 percent. Galleria Gwangyo, which has a CGV IMAX auditorium, recorded a 20 percent increase in overall food and beverage sales over the same period, with the ninth-floor restaurant zone adjacent to the cinema up 50 percent. Fashion categories also climbed: high jewelry and watches rose 95 percent, women's apparel gained 30 percent, and golf merchandise was up 37 percent.
Movie theaters have welcomed more than 10 million visitors so far this month. According to the Korean Film Council's integrated ticketing system, 13,397,348 moviegoers attended cinemas from Aug. 1 to Tuesday, a 68.3 percent increase from the same period a year earlier. Box-office revenue rose 77.5 percent to 140.77 billion won ($99.8 million), the highest level since 2019, before the pandemic.
CJ CGV said its attendance rose 58.1 percent year-on-year from July 29 to Aug. 9, driven by "Spider-Man" and "Odyssey." Premium formats including IMAX and 4DX were particularly strong, with major premium auditoriums recording occupancy rates of 70 to 80 percent during that period. Word of mouth that "Odyssey" must be seen in IMAX has fueled fierce competition for tickets.
"With the heat wave coinciding with the vacation season, foot traffic has risen sharply, and stores with cinemas have seen a particularly large jump in food and beverage sales," an industry official said. "We're seeing a linked-purchase effect, where customers who come for a film end up shopping for fashion and other categories as well."
korean@heraldcorp.com
