Interior of a CJ CGV movie theater in Seoul. [Yonhap]
Interior of a CJ CGV movie theater in Seoul. [Yonhap]

As the film Odyssey continues to draw massive crowds, South Korea's screen quota system has emerged as a new variable that could cut short its run. Special-format theaters, including IMAX venues, are subject to the same mandatory Korean film screening requirements — meaning audiences may not be able to keep watching the film even if demand remains high.

Odyssey's cumulative audience surpassed 6 million as of Sunday, according to the Korean Film Council's integrated box office system. The IMAX craze has been particularly intense, with more than 600,000 of those viewers watching the film in IMAX.

Odyssey is the first film in history to be shot entirely on IMAX film cameras, making it uniquely suited for IMAX presentation and fueling the strong preference for that format.

The IMAX screen at CGV Yongsan I'Park Mall — the largest in the country, known colloquially as "Yongamek" — has become so popular that tickets are nearly impossible to obtain even at a premium. Seats remain sold out across most of the auditorium, with only front-row spots and a handful of others still available.

Resale activity has surged on secondhand trading platforms, an unusual phenomenon given the sharp drop in theater attendance that followed the rise of OTT services such as Netflix. Signs of scalping have also surfaced, with apparent bulk buyers purchasing large quantities of tickets to resell at inflated prices.

Markups have reached staggering levels. Sellers routinely ask for at least 40,000 to 50,000 won ($36) per ticket, with some demanding as much as 300,000 won. Buyers willing to pay premiums of hundreds of thousands of won have also reportedly appeared.

Despite the frenzy, continuous IMAX screenings of Odyssey cannot be guaranteed. The screen quota law, which mandates a minimum number of days for Korean films, stands in the way.

Under the Enforcement Decree of the Motion Pictures and Videos Act, theaters must screen Korean films for at least one-fifth of their annual operating days — a minimum of 73 days per year for venues open every day of the year. Special-format theaters are subject to the same rule. For a day to count toward the Korean film quota, every showing that day must consist exclusively of Korean films.

As of Friday, Yongamek had logged 35 days of Korean film screenings, leaving 38 mandatory days still to fulfill. With major year-end releases such as Dune: Part Three and Avengers: Doomsday also on the horizon, the window for Odyssey to continue playing at Yongamek is estimated at roughly two months at most.

This is not a new problem. The screen quota has long forced special-format theaters to screen Korean films not produced in 4DX, IMAX or other premium formats simply to meet the annual requirement.


dlcw@heraldcorp.com