CGV Raises Ticket Prices Again After 5 Months: "An Inevitable Choice for Survival"

"Entire Film Industry Faces Collapse... Existence at Risk"
"Increasing Funds to Promote New Releases... Additional 1000 Won Paid to Distributors"

On the 12th, a movie theater in downtown Seoul was quiet. According to the Korea Film Council's Integrated Computer Network for Movie Theater Tickets, the number of visitors to movie theaters the previous day was 10,776. This is the lowest figure since the Korea Film Council began official statistics in 2004. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

CJ CGV is raising movie ticket prices again after about five months. This bold move aims to alleviate the increasing fixed costs and difficulties caused by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

On the 18th, CGV announced, "As the domestic film industry faces the brink of collapse, we will raise movie ticket prices by 1,000 KRW starting from the 2nd of next month." Based on regular hours, weekday tickets will cost 13,000 KRW and weekend tickets 14,000 KRW (for adult 2D movies during regular hours). Prices for special theaters such as 3D, IMAX, 4DX, ScreenX, and Sweet Box will also increase by 1,000 KRW each. However, discounted rates for persons with disabilities and national merit recipients will be maintained.

CGV described this as an "unavoidable choice for survival." They explained, "The structure of the Korean film industry shows that 76% of total revenue (as of 2019) comes from theater ticket sales. Considering that more than half of the theater ticket revenue is distributed to distributors, investors, and production companies, the entire film industry is currently on the verge of collapse."

In fact, last year’s theater attendance was the lowest since the integrated ticketing system for movie theaters was launched in 2004. This year, attendance from January to February dropped by 87.9% compared to the same period in 2019. To make matters worse, distributors postponed the release of anticipated films, and some titles bypassed theatrical release entirely, going straight to online streaming services (OTT).

Amid this unprecedented crisis, CGV’s very existence has become precarious. Last year alone, operating losses reached 203.6 billion KRW. A company representative stated, "Despite efforts such as voluntary retirement, temporary business suspension, and unpaid leave, we have not been able to escape the deficit trend. The burden of fixed costs like rent and management fees, combined with additional quarantine expenses, makes the ticket price increase inevitable."

CGV plans to use the additional revenue from this price hike to promote the release of new films. Besides the screening fees paid to distributors, CGV will provide an additional 1,000 KRW per viewer as release support funds. Furthermore, they intend to establish a survival foundation through business restructuring and cost reduction. A representative said, "We sincerely apologize for the increased burden on viewers, but we ask for understanding as this decision was made out of desperation to prevent the collapse of the film industry."

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