Homegrown films saw a whopping 81.1 percent increase in overall theatrical attendance in March thanks to the release of various genre movies, data showed Thursday. (Image: Yonhap)
SEOUL, April 12 (Korea Bizwire) — Homegrown films saw a whopping 81.1 percent increase in overall theatrical attendance in March thanks to the release of various genre movies, data showed Thursday.
According to the Korean Film Council (KOFIC), Korean films made 63.2 billion won (US$59 million) through sales of 7.91 million tickets in local theaters last month. The numbers of viewers and ticket sales were up 81.5 percent and 81.1 percent, respectively, from a year ago. It was the highest March total since 2013 when Korean movies drew 8.39 million admissions.
The unusual success of domestic movies in the spring low-season is largely due to the strength of four small films of different genres: “Be With You,” “Little Forest,” “The Vanished” and “The Princess and the Matchmaker.” They attracted more than 1 million moviegoers each.
The release of big-budget Hollywood movies “Black Panther” and “Ready Player One” in February and late March also was a factor behind the overall strength of low-budget Korean films in March.
But the total number of admissions to theaters fell 7.6 percent to 12.8 million from the same month in 2017 because of the weak performance of non-Korean films.
(Yonhap)
