[The Editors' Verdict] Crime City 3: The Shadow Behind the Race to 10 Million Viewers

Korean Film Reclaims Top Audience Spot, Overtaking Japanese Movies
Box Office Flop Sparks Timely Debate on Industry Crisis

The movie Crime City 3 is like a refreshing rain for movie theaters. According to the Integrated Computer Network for Cinema Admission Tickets, it has attracted 7.78 million viewers as of the 12th. It is by far the number one among movies released this year. Until now, the Japanese animation Suzume no Tojimari held the top spot in box office success, with 5.53 million viewers.

The movie that followed Suzume is also Japanese, The First Slam Dunk. It is a film that revived the school memories of viewers in their 30s and 40s. It attracted 4.67 million viewers to theaters. The characteristic of both Suzume and Slam Dunk is that they had a clear target audience. Movies without such a target audience generally showed poor box office performance.

At least Hollywood blockbusters from the U.S. have given theaters some breathing room. Movies like Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3, Avatar: The Way of Water, and John Wick Chapter 4 made it into the top 10 in box office rankings. However, even these films’ audience numbers are embarrassingly low for top-ranking hits.

The situation is even more severe for Korean films before Crime City 3. Among movies released this year, only Negotiation barely made it into the top 10. It stars actors Hwang Jung-min and Hyun Bin, who are considered box office guarantees. However, its audience count remained at 1.72 million. The movie Dream, starring singer and actress IU, followed Negotiation with a decent performance but its box office record is outside the top 10.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

When the endemic era (periodic outbreaks of infectious diseases) began, it was expected that the shadow of COVID-19 over movie theaters would lift. Now, many more viewers attend theaters without masks. It has returned to a time when people can watch movies comfortably. However, movie theaters still face a cold wind.

In this reality, the success of Crime City 3 is astonishing. Following last year’s Crime City 2, it is once again on the verge of becoming a 10-million viewer movie. When you go to the theater, almost all screenings are of Crime City 3. Surpassing 10 million viewers is practically just a matter of time.

Crime City 3 is an action film about Ma Dong-seok’s (playing Ma Seok-do) character, a monstrous detective who has moved to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s Metropolitan Investigation Unit. Detective Ma Seok-do dedicates himself solely to protecting citizens’ safety, indifferent to money and power (positions). Audiences responded enthusiastically to his overwhelming muscles and powerful punches aimed at ‘evil.’

Crime City 3 is a grateful film that reclaimed the 2023 box office number one spot, which had been taken by Japanese films. However, the shadow over Korean films has not completely disappeared. Most films other than Crime City 3 failed at the box office. When many films fail to break even, investment shrinks and the soil for artistic passion becomes barren. If the roots of independent films are shaken, can the status of K-films be maintained?

Now, on the verge of the revival of the era of 10-million viewer movies, a change in perspective is needed. It is not the time to be intoxicated by the ‘joy of numbers’ but rather the right time to publicize the crisis of K-films. About 100 ‘warehouse films’?movies that missed their release timing?are piled up, while the number of films currently in production is barely countable. The pattern of releasing old films belatedly and waiting for audience response is repeating.

As audience tastes become increasingly demanding, if only works that fail to keep up with the times are produced, the shadow over K-films will inevitably deepen.

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