[Focus] "Do You Want to Watch Movies at the Theater or OTT at Home During the Seollal Holiday?"

Golden Holiday for Five Days of Lunar New Year
'Kingmaker' and 'Pirates 2' Release
'All of Us Are Dead' and 'Internal Medicine Director Park' Head to Home Screens
Theater to OTT, Expanding Online and Offline Competition

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Isul] "This Lunar New Year holiday, do you want to watch a movie at the theater or at home on OTT?"

More people are asking this question. In the past, you had to go to the theater to watch a movie, but not anymore. There are now more options. You can watch new releases without buying a ticket and leaving your home.

Watching a movie in a theater means sitting in a seat and viewing it on the 'big screen.' Movie watching involves feeling the texture of the chair, the smell of popcorn, and the warmth of the light reflected on the screen. The emotional atmosphere and experiential enjoyment provided by the space are unique to theaters. However, some believe that movies do not necessarily have to be watched in theaters.

The so-called 'younger generation' who grew up watching YouTube are accustomed to watching movies on smartphones. They watch movies on TVs or laptops anywhere while also browsing on their phones and exchanging messages. For them, movies do not have to be watched in theaters. They only go to theaters for works that have a valid 'reason' to be seen there.

Various domestic and international online video services (OTT) such as Netflix, Apple TV, Disney Plus, TVING, KakaoTV, and Wavve have emerged. Although market changes were anticipated, the content market rapidly grew due to COVID-19.

Not only movies and dramas but also variety shows have gained global attention recently, thanks to domestic producers' efforts to promote K-variety overseas. The era of K-content has arrived.

The Lunar New Year holiday continues for five days from the last weekend of this month to Wednesday (January 29 to February 2). Normally, this period is considered a peak season for theaters, with domestic and international new releases competing to light up their marquees, and blockbuster movies attracting over ten million viewers. But this has become a thing of the past since the pandemic.

After COVID-19 emerged, major new releases that had finished filming were left dormant, unable to set release dates. As theater conditions did not improve, dust accumulated on distributors' external hard drives.

Following the implementation of 'With Corona' (gradual return to normal life) in November last year, distributors expected theater conditions to improve by late January and prepared to release fairly large-scale films. However, due to the Omicron variant, social distancing was reinstated, and most releases were postponed again.

From the 3rd to the 16th, the quarantine authorities removed the 10 p.m. screening restriction for theaters, which are multi-use facilities, allowing entry until 9 p.m. based on the start time of movies and performances. Even if the Lunar New Year theater quarantine guidelines remain, late-night screenings will be possible, so the impact is expected to be minimal.

On the 26th, during the Lunar New Year holiday, two films will be released simultaneously in theaters. 'Kingmaker' (directed by Byun Sung-hyun), starring Sol Kyung-gu and Lee Sun-kyun, which is based on the true story of the late former President Kim Dae-jung and Eom Chang-rok, and the sequel to the 2014 hit 'The Pirates,' which attracted 8.66 million viewers, titled 'The Pirates: Goblin Flag.' Earlier, on the 12th, 'Special Delivery,' starring Park So-dam, will also be released to meet audiences.

Domestic OTT TVING released the 'Internal Medicine Director Park' series two weeks ago on the 14th. Previously, a poster featuring actor Lee Seo-jin transformed into a bald doctor attracted attention. KakaoTV will release season 2 of 'Myeoneuragi' every Saturday starting from the 8th after a year-long hiatus. Netflix will release the original series 'All of Us Are Dead' on the 27th, depicting a battle against zombies set in a school. Disney Plus will release the youth drama 'Police University,' starring singer Kang Daniel, in the first half of this year.

A film industry insider said, "Distributors usually coordinate release dates to avoid overlapping. Even if overlaps are unavoidable, they choose release timings positively." He added, "Since the pandemic, there is less intense competition, but it is still important which works are released simultaneously."

The insider also said, "As the content market changes, film distributors are now paying attention to the schedules of major OTT releases. Recently, OTT companies have been releasing their main works during long holidays when people stay home longer, so distributors cannot ignore this. Although it is not a major consideration, they are concerned about which works will become hits."

Another insider explained, "When 'Squid Game' and 'Hellbound' were released, some movies that premiered around the same time did not receive much attention due to the buzz around those shows. No matter how good a movie is in theaters, it can be overshadowed by OTT content and neglected, which is unfortunate." He added, "When a big hit comes out, interest grows and the mood shifts, and audiences inevitably are influenced by this trend."

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