Korean Box Office: Friend 2 Wins Again as Hunger Games Fails to Catch Fire

Business was a bit slow this past weekend as all the holdovers suffered heavy falls and none of the new releases caught fire. 1.85 million tickets were bought over the frame, down almost 20% from last year. The market share was evenly spread as local releases took a thin edge with 51%, this was down from 72% this time last year.

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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.

Korean Box Office Update (03/30-04/01, 2012)

Architecture 101 Weathers the Wrath of the Titans

	Title	Release Date	Market Share	Weekend	Total	Screens
1	Architecture 101	3/22/12	29.30%	570,915	1,609,046	579
2	Wrath of the Titans (us)	3/29/12	28.80%	482,485	554,488	536
3	Untouchable (fr)	3/22/12	16.20%	315,940	940,461	411
4	Over My Dead Body	3/29/12	16.20%	312,872	368,065	433
5	Helpless	3/8/12	5.70%	110,312	2,339,242	326
6	This Means War (us)	2/29/12	0.80%	15,435	857,344	103
7	John Carter (us)	3/8/12	0.60%	11,427	831,555	152
8	Space Dogs 3D (ru)	3/22/12	0.50%	11,167	35,826	89
9	Chronicle (us)	3/15/12	0.30%	6,761	381,410	109
10	Nameless Gangster	2/2/12	0.10%	2,394	4,681,429	26

Business was up this weekend as nearly two million tickets were sold which was almost twice as many as last year's similar frame.   The Korean market also share came in at a healthy 52%.   Korean films have topped the chart for eleven weeks now but unfortunately this will mark the end of the streak as the season's biggest international blockbuster bows next weekend.

Repeating at number one was Architecture 101 which saw a slight increase to 570,915 admissions.  Word of mouth seems strong for this romance pic and it could continue to play well though next weekend will be a difficult test for all the films in the marketplace.   In any case it will have no trouble crossing the two million mark but looking at the similar trajectory it has had to Helpless, any further milestone is uncertain for the moment.  However, while it does have to compete with Hollywood next weekend, the next major Korean release doesn't open until April 11 so this may work in its favor.

Wrath of the Titans came in a relatively close second with 482,485 which seems strong but was actually about half of what its predecessor Clash of the Titans achieved in 2010.   I can't imagine this film will stick around for long and will probably suffer some very sharp declines in the following weeks.

The French film Untouchable, which has been breaking all sorts of records in its native country, dropped one spot and slowed only 20% for a strong 315,940 sophomore frame.   This may stick around for a little while and with similar declines it could come close to the two million mark which may be the first time a French film has done so at the Korean box office.

The major Korean opener this weekend was Over My Dead Body, the black comedy starring Ryoo Seung-beom and Lee Beom-su.  It's 312,872 debut isn't bad but given how recent films have performed this picture may see an early grave.  Strong word of mouth could save it but more than likely it will suffer a sharp decline along with most of the marketplace next week.

Helpless lost about two thirds of its business in its fourth weekend, adding another 110,312.  The Three million mark seemed within reach only ten days ago but now it will have to settle for 2.5 million.   Still a very strong result but this is also evidence of the volatility of the Korean market as it played very well for two weeks, especially as it increased in its second frame but was then immediately forgotten as another local film captured the public's imagination.

The rest of the marketplace was negligible as the bottom half of the top 10 took a combined 2.2% market share.  At no. 6 This Means War dropped 70% for 15,435 and the one million milestone is now out of reach.  John Carter, at no. 7, saw an 87% drop for a measly 11,427 weekend as it exits the chart.   Space Dogs 3D jumped up one spot to 8 though it actually saw its business cut in half for a 11,167 frame.  Chronicle took 6,761 after a 90% for no. 9.  Rounding out the chart was Nameless Gangster which reappeared on the chart with 2,394.

The behemoth Hunger Games opens next week and though I am not sure exactly how it will perform in Korea it will certainly barge into first place.  The only question is how big it will be, a one million opening is a distinct possibility and would dominate everything else.  The next big Korean film will be The Scent which opens on the 11th but this will have some trouble ascending to first place.

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.