[Click eStock] "Showbox to Release Up to 8 Films This Year Featuring Lee Byung-hun, Cha Seung-won, Song Kang-ho... Momentum Expected in January"

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] Hana Financial Investment evaluated Showbox on the 9th as "the content production company with the highest momentum in January." After recording approximately 37 million viewers in 2015, the number steadily declined to about 11.5 million in 2019, with both performance and stock price moving in tandem. However, in 2020, Showbox prepared the largest number of titles and tentpole films (works with famous actors and large-scale production budgets, considered the most commercially viable in the production company's lineup) in the past three years, particularly analyzing that the momentum for box office success is highest in January.

Showbox aims to release up to eight films this year. Among them, January is focused on Nam-san-ui Bujang-deul and Itaewon Class. Nam-san-ui Bujang-deul stars Lee Byung-hun and Kwak Do-won, and Itaewon Class, airing on JTBC on January 31, stars Park Seo-joon.

Researcher Lee Ki-hoon stated, "Not only is this IP already supported by a sufficient fandom, but recent works starring Park Seo-joon, such as What's Wrong with Secretary Kim and Fight for My Way, have all been successful at the box office. Therefore, expectations for box office success and sales performance are quite high," adding, "Depending on the results, the value as a drama production company will also be recognized."

He also pointed out that among this year's lineup of eight films, four have production costs exceeding 10 billion KRW.

Researcher Lee said, "Showbox's performance and momentum were quite sluggish last year due to a strategy of reducing the number of works while increasing the investment ratio compared to the past as a box office leverage strategy, but this year is different," explaining, "They aim to release up to eight films, four of which have production costs exceeding 10 billion KRW. There are three tentpole films: Nam-san-ui Bujang-deul starring Lee Byung-hun and Kwak Do-won in January, Think Hole starring Cha Seung-won in July, and Emergency Declaration starring Lee Byung-hun and Song Kang-ho in December." He added, "Since 2018's Drug King, sales amounts for OTT platforms have increased, lowering the break-even point (BEP), which is also positive."

Researcher Lee concluded, "With the start of the drama production business, additional value rerating can be expected depending on the results," and diagnosed, "It is especially necessary to pay attention to January, which has high box office momentum."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.