According to the report on the South Korean movie industry released by the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) on Wednesday, the number of moviegoers who watched IMAX, 3D or 4D films during the first six months in 2017 was estimated at 1.88 million, down 28 percent compared to the same time last year. (Image: Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jul. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — Sales of IMAX movie tickets along with 3D and 4D films in South Korea drastically dropped during the first half of the year, a new industry report has revealed.
According to the report on the South Korean movie industry released by the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) on Wednesday, the number of moviegoers who watched IMAX, 3D or 4D films during the first six months in 2017 was estimated at 1.88 million, down 28 percent compared to the same time last year.
Revenue also dropped nearly 30 percent, down to 22.7 billion won.
“The lack of box office hits for 3D, 4D, or IMAX screening, and the high ticket price as well as the rise of different platforms such as IPTV all contributed to the sharp decline of interest in the special film format,” the KOFIC said.
The lack of 3D or IMAX South Korean movies was pointed out, in stark contrast to foreign films including Hollywood movies, with 29 3D movies and 18 IMAX films played from January to June.
The report also found half of the ten most commercially successful South Korean movies so far this year were crime movies, pointing to an imbalance in genres.
While the market share of South Korean movies remained at 42.8 percent, down 3.5 percent from last year, the figure for foreign movies increased 9.6 percent, attracting over 55 million moviegoers, according to the report.
The total number of moviegoers during the first half of this year slightly increased on year, spurring record-high ticket sales of 783.6 billion won.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
