Last Month's Movie Attendance Hits 16-Year Low... Film Industry on High Alert

Multiplexes Face Increased Theater Rent and Labor Costs as Screens Expand
Additional Advertising and Marketing Expenses Inevitable for Production, Distribution, and Import Companies... Burden of Overheated Competition Also Grows

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jong-gil] The film industry has crumbled rapidly due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). According to the Korea Film Council's integrated box office data as of the 1st, the number of moviegoers who visited theaters last month was 7,347,033. This is the lowest number of moviegoers in February since February 2004, when it was 3,113,385. It has sharply decreased to about one-third compared to 22,277,733 in February last year.

This disaster occurred as COVID-19 confirmed cases surged rapidly. There were four days last month when the daily number of moviegoers was less than 100,000. In particular, on the 24th and 25th, the number fell below 80,000 for the first time in 16 years. The box office rankings have become virtually meaningless. It is common for the top-ranked films to attract fewer than 50,000 viewers. Even "The Invisible Man," which topped the box office on the weekend (Saturday) of the 29th last month, drew only 44,024 viewers.

Theaters uniformly express serious difficulties in operation. This cannot even be compared to 16 years ago. At that time, the number of daily screenings was about 1,800. Currently, it is about 14,000, roughly eight times more. As the number of screens has increased significantly, theaters suffer enormous burdens such as rent and labor costs. Theaters visited by confirmed COVID-19 patients cannot even open. Large multiplexes such as CGV and Lotte Cinema have already entered emergency management systems, and all screening rooms in the Daegu area have suspended operations.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Production companies, distributors, and importers are also facing difficulties. This is not limited to currently screening films such as "1917," "Beasts Clawing at Straws," "Little Women," and "The Gentlemen." Films whose releases have been postponed, such as "Time to Hunt," "Fukuoka," "The Funeral," "Innocence," "Onward: The Magical World," the black-and-white version of "Parasite," and "Call," inevitably face additional expenses for advertising and marketing. Even after the COVID-19 impact subsides, they will have to compete fiercely with already scheduled foreign films for release.

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