Korean Box Office Update (05/04-05/06, 2012)

The Avengers Grows, Korean Releases Lag

	Title	Release Date	Market Share	Weekend	Total	Screens
1	The Avengers (us)	4/26/12	53.50%	1,430,595	4,001,858	918
2	As One	5/3/12	16.80%	509,444	596,793	535
3	Snow White (us)	5/3/12	7.80%	248,377	285,620	385
4	The Lorax (us)	5/3/12	6.50%	194,935	202,348	462
5	A Muse	4/25/12	6.30%	182,261	1,021,437	402
6	Crayon Shin-chan (jp)	4/26/12	3.60%	121,192	230,929	293
7	Architecture 101	3/22/12	3.30%	102,765	3,879,029	248
8	The Scent	4/11/12	0.90%	27,044	1,206,640	120
9	Battleship (us)	4/11/12	0.30%	10,779	2,230,317	62
10	Untouchable (fr)	3/22/12	0.20%	5,102	1,709,560	19

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Korean Box Office Update (04/27-04/29, 2012)

The Avengers Knocks Out the Competition

	Title	Release Date	Market Share	Weekend	Total	Screens
1	The Avengers (us)	4/26/12	64.30%	1,342,576	1,636,182	963
2	A Muse	4/25/12	15.80%	389,797	553,807	519
3	Architecture 101	3/22/12	6.20%	157,166	3,622,800	316
4	The Scent	4/11/12	4.70%	115,110	1,090,057	296
5	Battleship (us)	4/11/12	3.50%	90,458	2,171,337	299
6	Crayon Shin-chan (jp)	4/26/12	3.20%	90,099	92,885	277
7	Untouchable (fr)	3/22/12	0.70%	17,742	1,688,300	108
8	Spring Snow	4/26/12	0.20%	6,330	11,238	117
9	The Hunger Games (us)	4/5/12	0.20%	4,615	604,809	67
10	Over My Dead Body	3/29/12	0.10%	3,626	982,185	42

Well summer has truly arrived as we have our first major blockbuster performance.  There was never really any doubt what would happen this weekend but the size of The Avengers' opening was very impressive nonetheless as it captured almost two thirds of the weekend box office.

Total admissions stood at an enormous 2.1 million which is among the biggest in the history of the market, it was also well over last year's 1.5 million when Thor (one of the many predecessors to The Avengers) opened.  The Korean box office share took a big hit as it shrunk to 27%, which was a bit lower than 2011's 36%, but it will likely bounce back next weekend.

The Avengers 1,342,576 opening is huge but not a patch on last year's Transformers 3's opening bow, which stood at over two million.  This early in the summer though it is a notable achievement and one must remember that The Avengers is not as popular or well known as in the United States.  Given the film's positive reaction (Twitter netizens have been raving abut it) it should continue to play well but it will face some competition for the top spot next weekend in the form of a much anticipated Korean film.  Though I wonder how much pent up demand was spent this past weekend.  The good news is that this is definitely one of the biggest Hollywood films of the year so local fare may have to face much worse during the rest of the season.

A Muse was the major opening Korean film this weekend and I've been wondering why they scheduled at the same time as such a gigantic Hollywood blockbuster.  It had a fairly good opening with 389,797 but I imagine it would have done better without the extra competition.  Awareness for this pic is high and though I have not yet read any reviews I imagine that it could play well throughout the rest of May.

Architecture 101 stayed at number three but did drop around 40%.  Its 157,166 frame is still very impressive given it is now in its sixth week.  It will need a little more to push past the four million mark but I have a feeling that it won't quite make it that far.

Despite its increase last weekend, The Scent retreated this tie around as it lost over 60% of its business.  It made 115,110 over the frame and has crossed the one million mark but will probably disappear from theatres very soon.

Battleship, after two big weekends, sank suddenly as it shed over 80% of its audience for 90,458 over the three days.  Clearly The Avengers was too much competition for it.  This also does not bode well for its stateside release.

The new Crayon Shin-chan anime film had an okay start with 90,099 while French hit Untouchable finally took a tumble as it lost most of its business, leaving it with 17,742.

Spring Snow, the other Korean film opening wide this weekend had a disastrous start this weekend as it attracted only 6,330 viewers.  I'm not surprised really as even for fans of family melodrama I can't see much appeal in this one.

The Hunger Games and Over My Dead Body were almost wiped out as they both lost over 90% for 4,615 and 3,626 respectively, the latter has likely missed its chance at getting past the one million mark.

Next week we'll see if The Avengers keeps its crown or hands it over to As One, the most anticipated Korean film of the year to date.  It has a chance but I think the band of superheroes will be taking a second victory lap.  I'm also curious to see if A Muse can improve on this week's performance.

Source: kobis.or.kr


The Korean Box Office Update is a weekly feature which provides detailed analysis of film box office sales over the Friday to Sunday period in Korea. It appears every Sunday evening or Monday morning (GMT+1) on Modern Korean Cinema. For other weekly features, take a look at Korean Cinema News and the Weekly Review Round-up. Reviews and features on Korean film also appear regularly on the site. 

To keep up with the best in Korean film you can sign up to our RSS Feed, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

Korean Box Office Update (04/20/04/22, 2012)

Battleship Stays Afloat With Another First Place Finish

	Title	Release Date	Market Share	Weekend	Total	Screens
1	Battleship (us)	4/11/12	34.50%	516,874	1,948,608	624
2	The Scent	4/11/12	20.20%	296,923	846,007	396
3	Architecture 101	3/22/12	17.80%	268,730	3,316,655	439
4	Untouchable (fr)	3/22/12	6.00%	89,231	1,635,275	227
5	The Hunger Games (us)	4/5/12	3.40%	52,276	584,818	253
6	Over My Dead Body	3/29/12	3.30%	50,470	962,436	235
7	Titanic (us)	2/20/98	4.60%	43,375	336,272	144
8	Beauty and the Beast (us)	7/4/92	3.60%	39,949	140,555	173
9	The Ides of March (us)	4/19/12	2.10%	29,679	35,146	93
10	Heartbreaker (fr)	4/19/12	1.70%	25,198	30,263	175

A Hollywood blockbuster continues to lord over the Korean marketplace and it will likely switch with another next weekend when The Avengers rolls around but the news isn't all bad for local fare.  Even with no new openers the market share was still decent at 42%, this was a little under last year's 47% but then again a lot more tickets were sold this year as admissions were at 1.5 million versus 1.2 for 2011's similar frame.

Battleship dipped a little but remained strong with 516,874 for a first place finish.  It has already amassed nearly two million admissions but will suffer greatly at the hands of The Avengers, which opens next weekend.

The Scent, which had a mediocre start saw its fortunes reversed over the weekend as it increased 20% for a 296,923 frame, still nothing major but an encouraging sign nonetheless.

Architecture 101 had a slight uptick, even as it dropped onew spot and is now well over the three million mark after adding 268,730 admissions over the three days.

Untouchable was steady with another 89,231 tickets sold as it continues to impress with its remarkable run.

The Hunger Games continues to disappoint after its 52,276 frame, it's only over the half million mark at this point and will not make it to the next milestone.

Over My Dead Body had a slight drop and is now very close to the one million point after selling an additional 50,470 tickets.  While not a stellar result, passing the milestone would certainly save it some face.

Re-releases Titanic and Beauty and the Beast also saw small drops for 43,375 and 39,949 respectively but they won't be around much longer.

The Ides of March had a soft 29,679 opening while Heartbreaker also opened but with a slighter smaller 25,198 admissions despite a higher theatre count.  Still though, it's not everyday that you see two French films in the Korean top 10!

Next week the focus will be shifting to The Avengers, which is almost guaranteed to lure over a million viewers during its opening.  A Muse will also debut but may have a tough time as a result, despite some good buzz.

Source: kobis.or.kr


The Korean Box Office Update is a weekly feature which provides detailed analysis of film box office sales over the Friday to Sunday period in Korea. It appears every Sunday evening or Monday morning (GMT+1) on Modern Korean Cinema. For other weekly features, take a look at Korean Cinema News and the Weekly Review Round-up. Reviews and features on Korean film also appear regularly on the site. 

To keep up with the best in Korean film you can sign up to our RSS Feed, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

Korean Box Office Update (04/13-04/15, 2012)

Battleship Sinks the Competition

	Title	Release Date	Market Share	Weekend	Total	Screens
1	Battleship (us)	4/11/12	41.80%	673,952	1,195,202	734
2	Architecture 101	3/22/12	15.90%	254,381	2,917,429	450
3	The Scent	4/11/12	15.60%	242,544	396,547	348
4	Untouchable (fr)	3/22/12	5.20%	84,418	1,502,292	242
5	Hunger Games (us)	4/5/12	4.30%	69,271	504,807	323
6	Over My Dead Body	3/29/12	4.20%	67,258	880,154	268
7	Titanic 3D (us)	2/20/98	5.70%	56,092	269,254	159
8	Beauty and the Beast (us)	7/4/92	3.80%	44,552	96,480	220
9	Doomsday Book	4/11/12	1.90%	31,564	73,836	236
10	Wrath of the Titans (us)	3/29/12	0.60%	10,086	883,711	114

The summer season got off to an early start this year as Battleship opened in most global territories, except for the United States.  Things over there kick off in early May with The Avengers and perhaps since Battleship will be playing in its wake when it opens two weeks later, the studio felt it should get a head start in the increasingly relevant international markets.  As such, business was up about 60% year-on-year with 1.6 million tickets sold versus just shy of a million in 2011.  Hollywood competition forced the domestic market share down to 38% which was down significantly from last year's 67%.

Battleship shot into first place with 673,952 and has already accumulated nearly 1.2 million admissions since it opened on Election Day, a holiday in Korea.  While certainly a strong figure it doesn't come close to some of the bigger openings of the past 12 months and will need to battle poor reviews to become a bonafide blockbuster.

In its fourth weekend, local hit Architecture 101 finally dropped a rank as it lost about 45% of its business for a 254,381 frame.  This probably means it has enjoyed the best part of its run and will start to make its exit from theaters in the coming weeks.  Currently it's a stone's throw from the three million mark and may go as far as 3.5.

The major new Korean release of the week was the thriller The Scent, starring Park Hee-soon and Park Si-yeon, which had a so-so start with 242,544.  The only thing that will save it now is very positive word of mouth but I have yet to hear anything about it and more than likely it will fade quickly.

French feelgood hit Untouchable dropped one more spot but lost over 60% of its steam for an 84,418 weekend.  In the meantime it has crossed the 1.5 million admissions mark which is a remarkable feat for a continental European film.

Hunger Games crumbled after its poor opening, sliding three spots and 75% for a lousy 69,271.  Its haul stands at just over half a million admissions and it will disappear fast.

Over My Dead Body lost two thirds of its business as it added 67,258 admissions to its total which could still reach the one million mark.  It will be close but next week's dearth of new openings could give it its chance.

At number seven, the 3D rerelease of Titanic added 56,092 to its bounty while the Disney rerelease of The Beauty and the Beast managed 44,552 in its opening weekend.

The anticipated Kim Jee-woon and Lim Pil-sung directed omnibus Doomsday Book garnered a less than impressive 31,564 during its debut but this should come as no surprise.  Short collections never make a the box office, actually this is a pretty good result in light of that fact.

Rounding out the chart was Wrath of the Titans third weekend where it eked out a minuscule 10,086 after a gargantuan 95% drop.

I'm curious to see what will happen next weekend as there does not seem to be any new wide releases.  Battleship stands a very strong chance of staying in number one but Architecture 101, which is a proven hit, also has a good shot of reclaiming the top spot.  Business will be down overall so holdovers will have a chance to see better returns but this is all just the calm before the storm as summer will really take off on April 26 when both the Hollywood The Avengers and Korean A Muse (Eungyo) see the light of day.

Source: kobis.or.kr


The Korean Box Office Update is a weekly feature which provides detailed analysis of film box office sales over the Friday to Sunday period in Korea. It appears every Sunday evening or Monday morning (GMT+1) on Modern Korean Cinema. For other weekly features, take a look at Korean Cinema News and the Weekly Review Round-up. Reviews and features on Korean film also appear regularly on the site. 

To keep up with the best in Korean film you can sign up to our RSS Feed, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

Korean Box Office Update (04/06-04/08, 2012)

Hunger Games Loses Out to Architecture 101 Threepeat

	Title	Release Date	Market Share	Weekend	Total	Screens
1	Architecture 101	3/22/12	29.00%	454,154	2,332,422	555
2	Hunger Games (us)	4/5/12	17.30%	273,598	317,191	511
3	Untouchable (fr)	3/22/12	13.70%	216,085	1,291,048	343
4	Over My Dead Body	3/29/12	12.50%	195,313	704,753	353
5	Wrath of the Titans (us)	3/29/12	10.80%	163,299	836,105	402
6	Titanic 3D (us)	2/20/98	12.10%	119,705	140,050	271
7	Helpless	3/8/12	1.70%	27,076	2,406,861	163
8	Conan (us)	4/5/12	1.20%	18,998	23,947	198
9	Space Dog 3D (ru)	3/22/12	0.30%	4,690	40,910	41
10	The Scent	4/11/12	0.30%	4,479	8,855	11

This past weekend was the first without a major Korean release in some time and also heralded the entry of the year's biggest film to date Hunger Games, which has already accumulated over $400 million worldwide.  Surprisingly, business was down 25% from last weekend, though it was up 50% over last year as 1.5 million tickets were sold.  The Korean market slipped slightly to 45%, the first time it has gone under the 50% threshold since mid-January, though it still bested Hollywood.

The surprise number one was Architecture 101 which claimed its third straight victory with a resounding 454,154 admissions, off a mere 20% despite heavy competition.  With over 2.3 million tickets sold already, the three million mark is all but assured and if it stays competitive it will look to overtake Unbowed's 3.4 million total to become the year's third-highest grossing film.

Hunger Games just posted its third straight win at the US box office but in Korea its result was disappointing as it took only 273,598 admissions and failed to stop the streak of domestic first places finishes which now stands at 11.  With a lot more big releases slated for the next few weeks don't bet on this hanging around either, it will likely take a big tumble next weekend.

Staying strong at number three was the French hit Untouchable which had a very healthy 30% drop for a 216,085 weekend.  It is now well over the one million mark and may have another milestone ahead of it.

Korean comedy Over My Dead Body may not have had a brilliant start but it posted a better-than-expected 195,313 in its sophomore stint as it was off only 35%.  At this rate it should cross the one million mark which will certainly save it some face.  Who knows, maybe word of mouth will settle in.

Wrath of the Titans followed its disappointing start with a huge 70% drop as it fell three places with its 163,299 take.  However it will likely have just enough gas left in the tank to make it over the one million mark.

James Cameron's 1998 megahit Titanic debuted with its 3D makeover to the tune of 119,705.  This result is not as impressive as the brisk business it did in its native market this past weekend but still a decent result for a rerelease.

March hit Helpless is quickly making its way down the chart after a very strong couple of weeks.  It added another 27,076 over the frame and may be gone from the chart next week.  It will likely fall just short of 2.5 million but it has had a great run.

Hollywood remake Conan started its run with a disastrous 18,998.  The film was a big flop when it opened last August in the US and the elapsed time as not been kind.  This will probably be the film's only chart position.

Russian animation Space Dog 3D slowed 60% to 4,690 as it winds up its decent run.  Korean thriller The Scent opened in very limited previews for 4,479 to squeeze into number 10.

Next weekend should be interesting as two Korean films open, the aforementioned The Scent and long time in the making Kim Jee-woon and Lim Pil-sung omnibus feature Doomsday Book.  Also being released will be Battleship, the Peter Berg-directed Hollywood Blockbuster based on the popular game.  Battleship had a premier event in Korea with cast and crew in attendance and will likely launch the summer season (which keeps arriving earlier each year).  It should take first place as I don't think either of the new Korean releases will open to huge figures.  However, if it misses its chance, Architecture 101 probably won't be too far behind.

Source: kobis.or.kr


The Korean Box Office Update is a weekly feature which provides detailed analysis of film box office sales over the Friday to Sunday period in Korea. It appears every Sunday evening or Monday morning (GMT+1) on Modern Korean Cinema. For other weekly features, take a look at Korean Cinema News and the Weekly Review Round-up. Reviews and features on Korean film also appear regularly on the site. 

To keep up with the best in Korean film you can sign up to our RSS Feed, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.