Korean Box Office Update (02/17-02/19, 2012)

Howling Takes a Bite Out of the Box Office

	Title	Release Date	Market Share	Weekend	Total	Screens
1	Howling	2/16/12	26.60%	530,291	637,885	549
2	Nameless Gangster	2/2/12	26.60%	498,920	3,394,229	552
3	Dancing Queen	1/18/12	8.90%	178,364	3,555,301	337
4	Legends of Valhalla: Thor (is)	2/9/12	7.70%	154,176	410,062	333
5	The Grey (us)	2/16/12	7.80%	152,028	184,488	300
6	Unbowed	1/18/12	4.90%	96,598	3,321,467	295
7	Tarbosaurus 3D	1/26/12	4.50%	71,608	892,711	197
8	Woman in Black (us)	2/16/12	3.50%	65,640	78,762	268
9	Ghost Rider 3D (us)	2/16/12	2.70%	53,741	70,433	236
10	Papa	2/1/12	1.10%	24,341	558,246	115

Business stayed very strong this weekend as yet another big Korean release took the top spot though it was a close finish for first place.  Two million tickets were sold over the frame and the overall market share for Korean films hit 70%, preserving a remarkable streak of recent domestic advantage.

Howling won the weekend as many expected it would but by a slimmer margin than expected.  It's 530,291 opening was good but not remarkable.  Though given the recent performances of films like Nameless Gangster and Unbowed, both of which strike similar demographics, perhaps this should come as no surprise.  However, reviews have been strong so word of mouth may see Howling increase in its sophomore frame.

In its third weekend, Nameless Gangster came a close second with 498,920 admissions.  Direct competition from Howling did lead to a 40% drop in business but it is still pulling in big numbers.  Currently it is well over the three million admissions mark and will be knocking on the door of four million soon.  It remains to be seen whether it can vie for five as well.

Dancing Queen also lost some steam in its fifth weekend as it wound up with 178,364.  The Uhm Jeong-hwa and Hwang Jeong-min comedy is now over the 3.5 million mark and will attempt to cross four but this will not be an easy task.  Regardless, the film has already been an enormous hit.

After its surprisingly good opening last weekend, Icelandic animated film Legends of Valhalla: Thor remained almost steady as it collected an additional 154,176 sales.  The picture will easily cross half a million and could go further still.  A good performance in any case but given the glut of children's films lately, it's interesting that this one came seemingly out of nowhere to outperform most of them.

Liam Neeson actioneer The Grey had a midlevel opening with 152,028.  Hollywood is having a tough go as local competition targeting the same audiences have overwhelmed it.

Unbowed slipped three spots to number 6 and shed over 60% of its business in the process for a 96,598 weekend.  The Ahn Sung-ki surprise hit has had a fantastic run and its total will soon cross the 3.5 million mark.  From here on out it will begin to shed theaters quickly as exhibitors look to clear away space for new films.

Tarbosaurus 3D is inching closer to the one million mark (it would only be the second animation to cross it after last year's hit Leafie, A Hen Into the Wild) as it garnered some 71,608 viewers over the frame.  It is still proving to be a very interesting time for Korean animation.

Two new US openers filled out slots 8 and 9, and both wer unable to entice audiences.  Woman in Black started its run with a tepid 65,640 while Nic Cage superhero sequel Ghost Rider 3D was D.O.A. with 53,741.

Rounding out the chart was Papa, which added another 24,341 in its third weekend.  The picture has crossed half a million but is a long way from being considered successful.

The only major release opening next weekend is Hollywood's Underworld 4 but the battle for first place will likely be waged between Howling and Nameless Gangster.

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 (02/10-02/12, 2012)

Nameless Gangster Takes Another Victory Lap

	Title	Release Date	Market Share	Weekend	Total	Screens
1	Nameless Gangster	2/2/12	40.80%	828,585	2,484,742	712
2	Dancing Queen	1/18/12	13.10%	282,560	3,200,481	426
3	Unbowed	1/18/12	12.00%	256,866	3,096,123	378
4	Legends of Valhalla: Thor	2/9/12	9.50%	198,414	208,842	382
5	Tarbosaurus 3D	1/26/12	6.80%	116,742	803,255	263
6	Papa	2/1/12	4.70%	107,868	478,378	314
7	Star Wars: The Phantom Menace	6/26/99	4.10%	59,278	69,038	200
8	War Horse	2/9/12	2.40%	53,558	64,780	226
9	Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy	2/9/12	2.10%	44,042	55,784	186
10	Happy Feet 2	2/2/12	1.60%	35,368	159,957	202

This past weekend was another exceptionally strong frame for local films as combined they took nearly 80% of the market share, up from 50% a year ago.  Total admissions came in at just over two million which was a 25% increase on last year's comparable weekend.

Once again leading the charge was Nameless Gangster which barely dropped from its gigantic opening to record a 828,585 weekend which already puts it within inches of the 2.5 million mark.   While it will likely lose a significant amount of business next weekend it's already a big success and will surely cross a few more landmarks during its run.

Dancing Queen moved up to number 2 this weekend with 282,560 which represented a tiny 15% drop.   It is now well over the three million mark and could cross four before finishing its impressive run.  It's going quite steady for the moment and should still remain competitive throughout the rest of the month.

Unbowed dropped to number 3 with a 40% drop that left it with 256,866.  It has now also crossed the three million admissions mark and could vie for the next milestone but this could prove to be a difficult obstacle to overcome.   The film has had an extraordinary run but with so much else crowding the theaters interested does seem to have waned so it will probably begin to wind up its run shortly.

Foreign animation Legends of Valhalla: Thor opened with a decent 198,414 but is unlikely to stay this high on the chart for long.  Considering how many children's films have opened recently this seems like a good start.

Tarbosaurus 3D lost about half its business this weekend as it garnered another 116,742 admissions but it has now crossed the one million mark.  This seems like a decent total for this kind of a film but I have no idea how much it cost or what its break-even point may be.  In any case it has been a difficult period for animation lately with so many crowding the marquee.

Papa dropped a spot to number 6 in its sophomore weekend as it halved its take to 107,868.  Not an impressive run but with so many quality offerings on offer its easy to see why a film with a slight and slightly perplexing premise could get lost in the mix.   One million admissions is probably not on the cards.

Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace occupied the number 7 spot as it came out on rerelease with 59,278.  At number 8 was Spielberg's new offering War Horse which sold 53,558 tickets.   Meanwhile, the phenomenal Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy failed to attract many viewers as it attracted 44,042 viewers for number 9.   Last Happy Feet 2 dropped like a stone after an abismal opening as it wound up with a paltry 35,368 admissions.

All eyes will be on the Ha Yu directed and Song Kang-ho starring Howling as it opens wide next weekend.   Reviews have been excellent and anticipation is high but I wonder how the strong performance of the top three local films will affect its opening bow.

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 (02/03-02/05, 2012)

Nameless Gangster Leads the Charge as Local Films Clean Out the Competition

	Title	Release Date	Market Share	Weekend	Total	Screens
1	Nameless Gangster	2/2/12	38.90%	917,379	1,092,987	701
2	Unbowed	1/18/12	16.40%	406,646	2,642,340	454
3	Dancing Queen	1/18/12	12.80%	322,688	2,734,699	436
4	Tarbosaurus 3D	1/26/12	11.20%	219,930	662,139	320
5	Papa	2/1/12	7.90%	213,946	292,295	414
6	Happy Feet 2	2/2/12	4.40%	99,405	109,141	312
7	Puss in Boots	1/12/12	3.50%	83,013	2,005,691	247
8	Journey 2: The Mysterious Island	1/19/12	1.40%	36,000	1,119,487	174
9	I Don't Know How She Does It	2/2/12	1.30%	30,324	39,845	165
10	Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol	12/15/11	0.70%	17,438	7,538,551	89

Local films dominated the marketplace this weekend as they took the top 5 spots and an 88% market share, effectively wiping out Hollywood's mark on Korean theaters over the time frame.  Total admissions stood at 2.36 million, a very healthy figure for this time of year.  The chief element of success was a strong variety of enticing projects which have mostly benefited from positive reactions.

Leading the charge was the hotly anticipated Nameless Gangster which did not disappoint, both with its positive notices and supercharged 917,379 opening weekend.  It's no small feat coming so close to the million mark at this time of year but even more encouraging in light of the strong competition from Lunar New Year's leading releases.  It will probably remain strong next weekend, likely taking the crown again but will face stiff competition thereafter following the debut of Howling.

Unbowed slowed a little over 40% in its third weekend, winding up with 406,646 which put it past 2.5 millin admissions.  Dancing Queen was next with 322,688, a 45% drop, it also crossed the 2.5 million mark.  Dancing Queen is still in the lead but Unbowed is likely to pull ahead before too long.  3 million is a guarantee for both but it will be interesting to see if they go further, especially Unbowed.

Tarbosaurus 3D dropped about a third and succeeded in lording over the numerous other children's offerings with its 219,930 take. It looks set to cross the one million mark before long, another feather in Korean animation's cap.

Papa also opened this weekend but was overwhelmed by immense local competition, finding itself lost amongst event pictures.  It pulled in 213,946 viewers in its opening bow and is not likely to improve on that in coming weeks.  Seeing how the slate was shaping up at the beginning of the year, the distributors probably should have considered pushing its release back to a less crowded weekend.

The next three entries in the chart were Hollywood kids movies Happy Feet 2 (99,405), Puss in Boots (83,013), and Journey 2: Mysterious Island (36,000).  Sarah Jessica Parker vehicle I Don't Know How She Does It was a non-starter with 30,324 while Mission Impossible 4 is now winding up its extraordinary run, amassing an additional 17,438.  Its 7,538,551 total is enormous but Transformers 3's chart-topping figure is now soundly out of reach.

The local industry is on a bit of a roll and I am now very curious to see how things will shake up over the next few weekends.  Howling pushed its release date back a week, a wise choice given Nameless Gangster's strong performance especially given the film's similar appeal.  So quick on its heels it might also have overloaded the marketplace, it is now being released February 16.  Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and The War Horse are opening next weekend but neither stands a chance of knocking Nameless Gangster from its perch.  Korean doc Two Lines will also be bowing in limited release.

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.

Upcoming Releases: February 2012

This monthly features previews the coming month's attractions in Korean cinema.  All of these monthly posts are available in an archive on the Upcoming Releases page.

February 2

Nameless Gangster

Papa

February 9

Two Lines

February 16

Howling

February 23

The Angel's Breath

February 29

Comic Book Store 3D

Love Fiction

Nameless Gangster

Director:  Yun Jong-bin

Screenwriter:  Yun Jong-bin

Cast:  Choi Min-sik, Ha Jung-woo

Synopsis:  Nameless Gangster chronicles the happenings in Busan, South Korea when the government in 1990 declared its war against crime. A corrupt public official (Choi Min-sik) faces criminal charges and meets Choi Hyung-bae (Ha Jung-woo), a mysterious man with connections to the Yakuza.

Release date:  February 2

Anticipation is riding high for young Yun Jong-bin's third feature after The Unforgiven (2005) and Beastie Boys (2008).  The period set gangster film pairs veteran thespian Choi Min-sik (Oldboy, 2003; I Saw the Devil, 2010) and up-and-coming star Ha Jung-woo (The Chaser, 2005; The Yellow Sea, 2010).  Numerous impressive stills and some promising trailers have already appeared on the web.  Nameless Gangster is shaping up to be one of the 2012's early hits.

Reviews:

enewsworld
Seongyeong's Private Place

Papa

Director:  Han Ji-seung

Cast:  Park Yong-roo, Ko Ah-ra, Daniel Henney

Synopsis:  Choon-Sub  (Park Yong-roo) is a talent manager who goes to the US after a client runs off.  To stay he must get married for a visa and soon he ends up with six new children.

Release date:  February 2

Papa is Han Ji-seung's second film following Venus and Mars in 2007.  90% of the film is said to have been filmed in America and it follows a rash of multicultural Korean films that have appeared recently, such as He's On Duty (2010).  Originally slated for the Lunar New Year holiday weekend, Papa was rescheduled due to an overcrowded field.

Two Lines

Director:  Ji Min

Synopsis:  Ji Min and Cheol met in university ten years ago and now live together as roomates and lovers.  People ask them why they won't get married since they're at that age but they've never seen the reason to.  Life was happy enough as it was until they come face to face with two dark red lines on a home pregnancy test.

Release date:  February 9

New documentary which premiered at the 13th International Women's Film Festival in Seoul last March from Ji Min.   Her previous film won the Ock Rang Award at the same festival and she had previously also been involved with docs To Live - Save Our Saemankum (2006) and The War, You and I (2010).  

Howling

Director:  Ha Yu

Cast:  Lee Na-young, Song Kang-ho

Synopsis:  A man dies by spontaneous combustion.  Animal teeth marks are discovered on his body.  A veteran male cop (Song Kang-ho) and rookie female (Lee Na-young) start to investigate.

Release date:  February 16

Without a doubt one of the most promising projects of 2012, Howling is acclaimed director Ha Yu's (Once Upon a Time in High School, 2004; A Dirty Carnival, 2006; A Frozen Flower, 2008) fifth feature.  As well as boasting a top cast with Song Kang-ho and Lee Na-young, the film has an intriguing premise which starts off with spontaneous combustion.  The moment this project came to light I was already very excited and there are few films I am more eager to discover.

Reviews:

The Korea Herald
Yonhap News Agency

Angel's Breath

Director:  Han Ji-won

Screenwriter:  Han Ji-won

Cast:  Kim Yeong-seon, Han Ji-won

Synopsis:  Jae-min's (Han Ji-won) dream is to become a super star.   His sick mother Yeong-ran (Kim Yeong-son) does what she can to support him. 

Release date:  February 23

Bar the information provided above and the trailed posted below, I have no further information on this low budget release.

Love Fiction

Director:  Jeon Kye-soo
Screenwriter:  Jeon Kye-soo
Cast:  Ha Jung-woo, Kong Hyo-jin
Synopsis:  A shy novelist falls for a beautiful, confident woman.

Release date:   February 29

Jeon Kye-soo's third feature, after Midnight Ballad for Ghost Theater (2006) and Lost and Found (2009).  Ha Jung-woo has been very busy of late, racking up an impressive set of credits including The Yellow Sea (2010) and The Client (2010) and has a lot coming up including Breakfast at Tiffany's, The Berlin File, and Nameless Gangster which will be released the same month.  The film also stars Kong Hyo-jin who has been equally impressive of late with stand out turns in Crush and Blush (2008) and Rolling Home With a Bull (2010).

Comic Book Store 3D

Director:  Heo Jae-hyeong

Cast: Lee Eun-mi, Lim Ah-yeong, Jang Sang-jin, Jeong I-gyeol

Synopsis:  So-ra has tough luck with her auditions and she blames the directors for her rejections. One She runs into Seung-hyeon, someone she used to act with.  He invites her to a film set and So-ra gets to fill in for an actress fails to show up.
Release date:  February 29

Reviews and features on Korean film appear regularly on Modern Korean Cinema.  For film news, external reviews, and box office analysis, take a look at the Korean Box Office Update, Korean Cinema News and the Weekly Review Round-up, which appear weekly on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings (GMT+1).

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 (01/27-01/29, 2012)

Unbowed Shoots to the Top During Big Weekend for Korean Film 

	Title	Release Date	Market Share	Weekend	Total	Screens
1	Unbowed	1/18/12	28.0 %	717,580	1,874,338	528
2	Dancing Queen	1/18/12	23.0 %	598,192	2,100,968	543
3	Tarbosaurus	1/26/12	15.6 %	330,411	366,523	454
4	Puss in Boots (us)	1/11/12	10.7 %	260,898	1,852,530	375
5	Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (us)	1/19/12	9.2 %	216,196	1,029,499	369
6	Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (us)	12/15/11	3.7 %	92,673	7,490,425	259
7	Pacemaker	1/18/12	2.3 %	60,634	429,413	309
8	We Bought a Zoo (us)	1/18/12	1.8 %	47,485	252,149	197
9	Never Ending Story	1/18/12	1.2 %	30,886	264,891	229
10	The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (us)	1/11/12	1.2 %	27,326	422,390	109

Local business finally found itself back in the driver's seat this past weekend as its market share soared to 71%.  That on top of the fact that total admissions were 2.56 million, 30% higher than last year's comparable weekend, and suddenly things are starting to look a lot rosier for Korean films in early 2012.

After a very strong start, Unbowed has taken over first place by jumping nearly 100% to 716,945.  Though it is not the only Lunar New Year's release on the path to success, it looks like the first major hit of the year.  It looks to continue the trend of strong small releases outperforming expectations that we saw so much of last year.

Meanwhile, Dancing Queen built on its successful opening by rising slightly to 597,666 and has now crossed the 2 million mark.  Competition from Unbowed and next week's opener Nameless Gangster will be tough, but it's already a hit.

The highest opener this week was another local release, the animated dinosaur feature Tarbosaurus 3D which wound up with an decent 329,625.  Though this film has managed to generate some buzz and has been presold to a number of markets, this probably wasn't the best time to release it.  The market has been flooded with children's fare recently and after the holidays, it's hard to imagine that this will pick up steam in February.

Puss in Boots remained steady at number 4 with 260,898 and looks to cross the 2 million mark before the end of its run.  Journey 2: The Mysterious Island dropped three places to number 5 but was able to hang on to nearly two thirds of its business as it finished the weekend with 216,196.  Mission Impossible 4 fell one spot to number 6 with 92,673.  It has now crossed War of the Arrows to become the second highest grossing film of 2011 and its total, which is inches from 7.5 million may come excruciatingly close to Transformers 3's chart topping tally, which stands at 7,790,434.

The other two Korean Lunar New Year's releases did not fare so well.  Pacemaker has simply failed to impress as it has receded 50% after a lackluster opening, its most recent take was 60,634. The marketing team behind the film desperately tried to increase awareness in interest in the film last week with a number of promotional tactics but these seem to have fallen flat.

Meanwhile, The Neverending Story, which no one seems to be talking about, finished at number 9 with 30,886 after losing 65% of its business.  It has barely managed to scrabble together a quarter million admissions to date and looks likely to finish with less than 500,000.

We Bought a Zoo stayed at number 8 as it added 47,485 to its paltry total while The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo rounded out the top 10 with 27,326.

Next week sees the release of the much anticipated Nameless Gangster starring Choi Min-sik and Ha Jung-woo but I am starting to wonder if it may fall short of expectations.  It will be hard enough to unseat Unbowed, which has taken over the public consciousness, but I'm wondering wether the film itself will fail to live up to the hype.  Papa will also be opening and will likely do so in the top 5 while the major US release will be Happy Feet 2 but after so much kids fare of late, I think this may be one too many.

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.