Theater Industry Hit Hard by COVID-19... 'Nam-san-ui Bujangdeul' Faces Box Office Chill

Saturday under 500,000 people · Sunday under 400,000 people... First time in 9 months since April last year

The CGV Sungshin Women's University Entrance branch in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, confirmed as a location visited by the fifth confirmed case of the novel coronavirus infection, has suspended operations for the second day on the 2nd. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jong-gil] Due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection, the number of visitors to movie theaters has decreased. According to the Korea Film Council's integrated ticketing system, 823,685 people visited theaters over the past weekend (February 1-2). On the 1st, 460,338 people gathered, and on the following day, 363,347 attended. These are the lowest numbers for Saturdays and Sundays this year. The Saturday attendance dropping below 500,000 is the first time in about nine months since April 20 last year, when 299,594 people attended. The Sunday attendance falling below 400,000 is also the first time since April 21 last year, when 261,535 people attended.

At that time, the box office leader was "Saeng-il" (Birthday). It attracted only 133,468 viewers over two days. The second place, "Yorona-ui Jeoju" (The Curse of Yoorona), drew 86,289 viewers, and the third, "Miseongnyeon" (Minority), attracted 40,172. As the films that were supposed to lead the box office were shunned by audiences, the total number of viewers dropped significantly. The situation of the movies screened last weekend was better than this. "Namsan-ui Bujangdeul" (The Man Standing Next) gathered 377,187 viewers over two days. "Hitman" attracted 255,903 viewers, and "Spy Geniuses" drew 40,648, following behind.

"Namsan-ui Bujangdeul" and "Hitman," which were released targeting the Lunar New Year holiday, showed a clear upward trend until the spread of the novel coronavirus infection. "Namsan-ui Bujangdeul" attracted 1,476,925 viewers during the last weekend of the previous month (January 25-26). However, the number last weekend decreased by nearly a quarter. "Hitman" also gathered 707,961 viewers during the same period but decreased by about one-third last weekend. While it is common for weekend audiences to drop by more than half, such a steep decline is rare. This is why movies scheduled for release this month, such as "Jipuragi-rado Japgo Sipeun Jimseungdeul" (Beasts Clawing at Straws) and "Jeongjikhan Hogu" (Honest Candidate), are considering postponing their premieres.

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