Theaters: "It's Time for All Filmmakers to Gather for Progressive Discussions"

Korean Film Screening Development Association Expresses Regret Over 'Filmmakers' Declaration Demanding Film Industry Structural Reform'
Refutes Five Allegations "Film Industry Issues Should Not Be Politically Resolved"

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 consecutive day on the 2nd. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jong-gil] The Korea Film Exhibition Development Association expressed regret over the announcement of the ‘Declaration by Filmmakers Demanding Structural Improvement of the Film Industry’ by the preparatory group for the legislation on structural improvement of the film industry.

In a statement released on the 27th, the association said, “Simply dividing the film industry into ‘theaters’ and ‘others’ and advocating unconditional regulation on one side is not a responsible attitude for the future of the film industry.” It added, “Ensuring equal opportunities for diverse and small films is not an area that can be realized through theater regulations such as the screen quota system.” It expressed concern that “ignoring the sovereignty of the audience, artificially limiting the demand of viewers who want to watch certain films, and forcing the sacrifice of high-demand films to guarantee screening opportunities for other films will become obstacles to the healthy development of film culture and arts.” The statement also said, “The actions of some filmmakers who advocate industry regulation rather than film production are very regrettable and unfortunate.”

The association refuted point by point the misunderstandings held by some filmmakers. It first mentioned the Fair Trade Commission’s decision and the Supreme Court ruling that there was no unfair practice of theaters pushing distributors. The Korea Film Exhibition Development Association stated, “After concluding that there is no ‘push-selling’ among affiliates due to vertical integration, recently, simple opposing views have raised suspicions that distributors do nothing for the benefit of theaters.” It added, “This too is merely a suspicion not based on facts.” It emphasized, “The success of a film primarily depends on the strength of its content and the choice of the audience. Theater scheduling merely reflects this.”

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The association firmly stated that there are no cases of unilaterally changing revenue shares without consulting distributors. Rather, it claimed, “Even though the global revenue share is around 50:50, we set the Seoul area revenue share at 55:45, contributing to coexistence in the film industry.” Regarding the issuance of free invitation tickets, it explained, “It is a strategy that positively influences film marketing and promotion agreed upon by distributors and producers,” and “It has already been proven not to be unfair in Supreme Court litigation.” It added, “We comply with the issuance ratio agreed upon within the film industry.”

The Korea Film Exhibition Development Association said, “We are fully committed to developing and growing various customer contact channels, including social networking services (SNS), not only at theater sites but also for film promotion and maximizing audience attraction.” It also explained, “We have never passed on costs incurred from joint marketing.” Regarding the claim that distributors should not share the cost of digital projector fees (VPF), it stated, “It has already been recognized by the courts as a reasonable cost-sharing procedure between theaters and distributors,” and “It was achieved through industry consensus from the beginning.” It added, “We will continue to recommend the termination of remaining contracts with some theaters through individual agreements.”

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 consecutive day on the 2nd. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

They said, “Although theaters nationwide are going through difficult times due to the rapid spread and prolongation of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), we will do our best to minimize industry damage and quickly normalize.” They also requested, “We ask the government, the National Assembly, and the entire film industry to join forces for the development of the film industry.”

The association also forecasted changes within theaters themselves. The Korea Film Exhibition Development Association stated, “Film is both art and industry,” and “We need to discuss improving the overall health of Korean films under the organic market principles of supply and demand.” Emphasizing that “It is time to move beyond old debates and engage in progressive discussions,” it mentioned improving the film production environment, developing diverse themes, transparency of investment funds, advancement of screening technology, increasing audience interest in various films, and competition with the OTT industry. It concluded by saying, “We ask that film industry issues no longer be resolved in the political arena but that all members of the film industry come together, engage in sufficient discussions, and find autonomous consensus points.”

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