Home is heated by Olympic fever, while theaters remain 'ssulreong'

New Releases Disappear and Audience Halves
February COVID-19 Theater Scene 'Sigh'

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[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Isul] While the home front is heated up by the controversial judging at the Beijing Winter Olympics, theaters are showing a quiet scene.

With the 24th Beijing Winter Olympics running until the 20th, interest is focused there, and the number of moviegoers visiting theaters is expected to drop significantly. Although February is typically considered an off-season, this year it is predicted to be colder than ever, deepening sighs in Chungmuro.

The audience has nearly halved. Over the past weekend (4th to 6th), 404,686 people visited theaters, a decrease of more than 40% compared to the 690,000 visitors during the Lunar New Year holiday the previous week. The 'new release effect' that appeared before the holiday seems to have disappeared, causing a sharp decline in audience numbers. At the end of last month, major new releases such as "Pirates: Goblin Flag" and "Kingmaker" premiered and met audiences during the Lunar New Year holiday, but there are not many new releases lined up consecutively.

Independent films "The Whole World Is White" and "My Candle" will be shown in theaters on the 10th, singer KCM (Kang Changmo) starring in "Refresh" on the 16th, and the animation "Jujutsu Kaisen 0: The Movie" and Japanese film "Tell Me the Way Back" on the 17th. Foreign films "Cyrano" and "Pig," along with director Jang Cheolsu's provocative romance "Serve the People," will be released simultaneously on the 23rd. Additionally, "Dunkirk" and "Dune" were re-released on the 9th, attracting viewers to special screening rooms.

Films that have been carefully considered recently seem to have hesitated to set release dates due to the severe spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant, with daily confirmed cases nearing 50,000, compounded by the Olympics.

A film industry insider said, "There are almost no films releasing in February. In fact, aside from independent films, foreign films, and re-releases, there are virtually no major domestic new releases," adding, "Even during the Lunar New Year holiday, the audience turnout was less than expected, causing frustration, and now with no new releases this month, sighs come naturally. This situation is difficult not only for theaters but also for distributors."

He continued, "We hope that if the COVID-19 situation improves this spring, audiences will return to theaters. Many films are delayed without release, and we are watching to see if they can be presented in theaters this year."

Major multiplexes CGV, Megabox, and Lotte Cinema are determined to actively attract audiences through special screenings using re-releases and curated events.

Megabox will showcase three films?"Death on the Nile," "Dune," and "Uncharted"?in Dolby Cinema. The theater stated, "We will actively develop space content business that realizes diverse experiential values and communicates with customers."

CGV conducted the first-ever live broadcast of the movie "Jujutsu Kaisen 0: The Movie" on Kakao Shopping Live on the 8th. Commerce Team Leader Kim Nayeon said, "We introduced limited edition golden tickets and special screening tickets," adding, "We will strive to make it easier and more convenient for customers to use various platforms."

Lotte Cinema held an event from January 29 to February 2 during the Lunar New Year holiday, offering popcorn with triple the usual size at the regular price, which received enthusiastic responses.

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