[Exclusive] No VC Investment in the Movie 'Beomjoedosi 3'

Box Office Success of Parts 1 and 2 Drives Funding for Parts 3 and 4
Crime City 2 Hits 12.69 Million Viewers, Surpassing 1.5 Million Breakeven Point

The movie series ‘Crime City’ has consistently surpassed its break-even point by a wide margin, bringing a fresh breeze to the box office. With sequels such as the 4th installment being produced following the 3rd, changes in investors are also drawing attention.

According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 2nd, the production company of the movie Crime City, B.A. Entertainment, is preparing the production of Crime City 4 simultaneously following Crime City 3. While a significant portion of the filming for the 3rd installment has been completed, filming for the 4th has also begun. It is reported that lead actor Ma Dong-seok has invested in the sequels through his own film production company, ‘Big Punch Pictures.’

However, the ending credits of the upcoming series are not expected to include the names of venture capital (VC) firms. A representative from a cultural content VC said, “We wanted to invest in Crime City, but there was no room to invest,” adding, “As a lot of investment money poured into the film industry, opportunities did not come to the film investment VCs.”

Previously, two venture capital firms were listed as investors in the first Crime City film. At that time, Michigan Venture Capital invested 1.5 billion KRW through the ‘Michigan Global Investment Association No. 6,’ and Union Investment Partners invested 400 million KRW through the ‘Union Cinema Investment Association.’ They covered about 40% of the 5 billion KRW net production cost between the two.

VC investments continued. For Crime City 2, KC Ventures, Gaia Venture Partners, Isu Startup Investment, Solair Partners, and Timewise Investment made investments. The production cost was 13 billion KRW, with a break-even point estimated at 1.5 million viewers. As a result, the film attracted a total of 12.69 million viewers, recording sales about eight times the break-even point.

Thus, the first and second installments were produced based on funds from multiple venture capital firms. Most of these investments yielded meaningful profits, recording multiples of over three times the invested amount. With the two films succeeding consecutively, expectations for the 3rd and 4th installments have grown. However, from the 3rd installment onward, it is expected to be difficult to find VC names.

The production cost for Crime City 3 is about 13.5 billion KRW, which is 500 million KRW more than the previous 2nd installment’s 13 billion KRW. The break-even point is expected to be 1.8 million viewers. Even assuming 10 million viewers, which is less than the previous film, it would still record sales more than five times the break-even point. With another hit practically guaranteed, VCs are left just salivating.

In Korea, the revenue share for movies is roughly 70% from theaters and 30% from online video services (OTT). In the past, profits were simply calculated based on the number of viewers, but recently, OTT contract revenues have also been added. Unlike general corporate investments, film investments tend to have a faster exit.

Meanwhile, the distributors for Crime City are Megabox Joongang Plus M and Kiwi Media Group for Crime City 1, ABO Entertainment and Megabox Joongang Plus M for Crime City 2, and ABO Entertainment for Crime City 3.

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