SEOUL, Sep. 21 (Korea Bizwire) – “Begin Again” is getting to become the top-grossing film in South Korea except North American market, hitting record highs in “diversity films,” a Korean phrase used to describe nonblockbuster foreign titles as well as local and imported indie and art house films.
The musical film reached a 1,647,9251,140 won (US$15,777,167) box office gross in South Korea till September 18, compared to $16,105,572 (about 16.83 billion won) in North American, although it was made with a $10 million budget. The profits made in South Korea are equivalent to over the half of the total profits made in all of the other countries except North America. Considering the film drawing big audiences, the box office gross in South Korea will cross the gross in North America in any minute.
Although many new films have been released, “Begin Again” ranks No. 2 in the Korean box office and real time booking rates, and there has been a keen interest in whether it will top “Howl’s Moving Castle,” a 2004 Japanese animated fantasy film, that has been ranked No. 2 in diversity movies to date.
“Begin Again” is an American musical film that illustrates the process of overcoming crises and healing the wound in heart through music. John Carney, director of a 2007 Irish musical film “Once,” wrote and directed “Begin Again,” and Keira Knightley, Mark Ruffalo, Hailee Steinfeld, and Adam Levine are starring the film.
By Eugene Yu (eugene@koreabizwire.com)
