Last Month, Movie Theaters Rise Thanks to 'With Corona' Policy

Total Sales of 65.9 Billion Won... 29.7% Increase from October
"Timely Release of 'Eternals' Boosts Both Sales and Audience Numbers"

On the 13th, supported by smooth COVID-19 vaccination and the summer peak season, students are purchasing tickets to watch movies at CGV Yongsan I'Park Mall in Seoul, where the number of movie theater audiences is increasing. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

Last month, movie theaters experienced an upward trend thanks to the lifting of operating hour restrictions and support for discounted admission tickets. According to the settlement data for last month released by the Korean Film Council on the 15th, total sales amounted to 65.9 billion won, an increase of 29.7% (15.1 billion won) compared to October. The number of viewers also rose by 25.4% (1.32 million) to 6.51 million.

The Korean Film Council cited the implementation of 'With Corona' starting from the 1st of last month as a key factor for the increase. "Operating hour restrictions were lifted, eating was allowed in vaccine-pass theaters, and social distancing in seating was removed," they explained. "Coinciding with this, the Hollywood blockbuster Eternals was released on the 3rd, boosting both sales and audience numbers."

Eternals attracted 3 million viewers and recorded sales of 31.2 billion won. The Korean Film Council stated, "As a Hollywood debut film of actor Ma Dong-seok, it drew attention and set the highest daily audience record of the year on the 6th of last month with 592,334 viewers." They added, "This is the second highest record since August 17 of last year, which had 404,734 viewers."

Distributor Walt Disney Company Korea supplied nine films including this one, such as Encanto: The Magical World (2.9 billion won) and The French Dispatch (700 million won), capturing a 54.0% share of sales. Warner Bros. Korea accounted for 11.2%, recording 7.4 billion won in sales from the single film Dune. Next Entertainment World (NEW), which distributed four films including Genre Only Romance (4.9 billion won), followed with a 7.4% share.

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