Theaters Overcoming the Boritgogae... Daily Audience Reaches 30,000

100-Seat Screen Reduced to DVD Room Used by Two or Three People

On the 15th, as a cluster infection of the novel coronavirus disease occurs in the Seoul metropolitan area, a movie theater in Seoul shows a quiet scene. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jong-gil] The number of daily moviegoers at cinemas has dropped to the 30,000 range. According to the Korea Film Council's integrated ticketing system on the 17th, the total number of viewers who watched movies in theaters the previous day was 36,447. This is the lowest since March 31, 2004, when 29,743 viewers were recorded. However, only 70% of theaters nationwide participated in the Korea Film Council's survey 16 years ago. In fact, the record from the previous day can be considered the lowest since the 21st century began.

As the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) spread, visits to theaters sharply declined. This month, there have only been four days when more than 100,000 people visited theaters. While weekday attendance had been maintained at 50,000 to 60,000, it plummeted to the 30,000 range the day before. The overall seat occupancy rate was 2.8%. A 100-seat screen has deteriorated to the level of a DVD room used by just two or three people.

The box office rankings have long lost their value as a measure of popularity. Only three films attracted more than 5,000 viewers: "Invisible Man" (8,089), "Dark Waters" (5,421), and "1917" (5,167). Other top-ranking films such as "Honest Candidate" (2,965), "Beasts Clawing at Straws" (2,082), "A Star Is Born" (1,562), and "Little Women" (1,515) failed to draw even 3,000 viewers.

Among the top 10, "Dark Waters" (released on the 11th) is the only film that premiered this month. Most were released last month or recently re-released. It is a steep downhill path of a barley drought with no prospect of a rebound.

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