The Lunar New Year Holiday Box Office Is a Thing of the Past... February Audience Numbers Drop by 42%

Sales Down 44% Due to Omicron Impact
Audience Decreases Even During Five-Day Holiday
Foreign Films Lead for 6 Consecutive Months
Most Watched Movie: 'Pirates: Dokkaebi Gitbal'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Isul] The Lunar New Year holiday boom has become a thing of the past due to the Omicron variant surge.

According to the Korea Film Council's February Korean film industry report, total sales amounted to 30.9 billion KRW, an increase of 7.6%·2.2 billion KRW compared to last year, and the number of viewers rose by 4.9%·150,000 to 3.27 million. Although there was a five-day Lunar New Year holiday from the last weekend of January to early February, the expected box office effect was limited as anticipated releases postponed their premieres.

There were no major hits even in mid-February. Compared to the previous month, total sales dropped by 44.4%·24.7 billion KRW, and the number of viewers decreased by 42.9%·2.45 million. Korean film sales fell to 12.7 billion KRW, down 42.2%, and the audience count dropped to 1.38 million, down 39.8%.

During the Lunar New Year holiday, big-budget films with production costs exceeding 10 billion KRW, such as "Pirates: Goblin Flag" and "Kingmaker," were released, resulting in increases in both sales and audience numbers compared to February last year. Korean film sales rose by 109%·6.6 billion KRW, and the number of viewers increased by 102.2%·700,000 compared to last year.

Foreign film sales decreased by 19.7%·4.5 billion KRW, and audience numbers dropped by 22.3%·540,000. However, foreign films held a 57.9% audience share last month, leading Korean films at 42.1% by 15.8 percentage points. This marks six consecutive months of dominance since September last year.

"Pirates: Goblin Flag" took first place in February box office with 6.5 billion KRW and 710,000 viewers. "Kingmaker," released on the same day, recorded 4.2 billion KRW and 440,000 viewers, ranking third.

Among foreign films, "Uncharted" ranked second with 6 billion KRW and 610,000 viewers, while the Japanese animation "Jujutsu Kaisen 0: The Movie" placed fourth with 3.1 billion KRW and 310,000 viewers. "Spider-Man: No Way Home" ranked sixth with 1.7 billion KRW and 190,000 viewers. The film has accumulated 75 billion KRW and 7.54 million viewers as of the 8th, becoming the highest-grossing pandemic-era film.

Sony Pictures Entertainment Korea Co., Ltd. Theater Distribution Branch topped the distributor rankings for February with sales of 7.7 billion KRW and a market share of 24.8%, securing the top spot for three consecutive months.

The top independent/art film in February was "Antebellum," which recorded 593.75 million KRW and 62,956 viewers over six days since its release on the 23rd of last month. The political documentary "My Candlelight" earned 380.51 million KRW·38,702 viewers, ranking second. Taiwanese youth romance "Something Unchanged Even After Ten Thousand Years" ranked third, and "Drive My Car," winner of the Best Screenplay award at the 74th Cannes Film Festival, placed fourth.

During the three days of the Lunar New Year holiday from January 31 to February 2, 820,000 people visited theaters, a 53.3% increase from last year but only about one-fifth of the pre-COVID-19 level in 2020. The top-grossing film was "Pirates: Goblin Flag" with 390,000 viewers, followed by "Kingmaker" with 220,000 viewers.

With theaters allowed to operate until midnight, February 2?the second week of release for "Pirates: Goblin Flag" and "Kingmaker" and during the Lunar New Year holiday?recorded the highest daily screening count of 16,160 showings. The screening index for February was 0.516, down 7.5% from the previous month. The average screening index for independent and art theaters was 0.487, showing little change from the previous month.

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