CGV "1020 Audience, Movie Viewing Guaranteed with Sure Fun"

Special Screening Revenue Increased by 7.6% Compared to Pre-COVID
Mid-Size Films Also See Multiple Viewings... Word-of-Mouth Reversal

CJ CGV announced that the film market in the first half of this year has recovered to 70% of the level before the COVID-19 pandemic.

On the 30th, CGV held the '2023 CGV Film Industry Media Forum' at CGV Yongsan I'Park Mall and presented this year's film consumption trends.

[Photo by Yonhap News]

According to the announcement, changes in the ticket share by age group of visiting customers were notable. In January, ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ recorded a share of 56.8% among the 30s and 40s age group, accounting for more than half, and from February to April, the audience in their teens and twenties for ‘The First Slam Dunk’ and ‘Suzume no Tojimari’ increased significantly.

In May and June, Hollywood blockbusters such as ‘Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 3’ and ‘Fast & Furious: Ride or Die’, along with ‘The Outlaws 3’, led the 30s and 40s age group at the box office. From July, all age groups have been visiting theaters due to the long-running success of ‘Elemental’ alongside anticipated Korean summer blockbusters.

The market share of Korean film audiences in the first half of the year was 36%, which is lower than the average Korean film audience share of 57% from 2017 to 2019.

Jinho Jo, Head of Domestic Business at CGV, analyzed, “Through the COVID-19 period, audiences have become more selective and their standards have risen, but it was evident that when worthwhile content like ‘The Outlaws 3’ or ‘Elemental’ is released, people still come to the theaters. The generations and age groups leading film hits are broadening, and segmentation by content is also increasing.”

On this day, CGV presented ▲So-hwak-jaem (small but certain fun) ▲Reverse Run ▲Rise of Subculture ▲Unusualness as key keywords for film consumption trends.

Audiences preferred works that guaranteed definite enjoyment. The average viewing time also tended to be later than before. It increased by 4.3 days from 10.8 days in 2019 to 15.1 days over the past year. This trend was especially pronounced among the teens and twenties, with the average viewing time for teenagers and people in their twenties delayed by 6.3 days and 4.7 days respectively compared to 2019.

With the expansion of word-of-mouth and social media (SNS) influence, weekly audience inflow also increased. A representative reverse run film this year was ‘Elemental’. ‘Elemental’ attracted more viewers in its 3rd and 4th weeks than in the 1st and 2nd weeks. While the 1st and 2nd weeks accounted for 10.5% and 12.3% respectively, based on word-of-mouth, the 3rd week recorded 16.4% and the 4th week 16.9%.

‘The First Slam Dunk’ also saw a continuous increase in weekly audience numbers. In the early release period, the 30s and 40s age group led the box office, but from the 5th week onward, the 20s age group had a higher ticket share than those in their 30s and above.

[Photo by CGV]

The rise of subculture is also noticeable with the spread of ‘N-times viewing’ due to personalized value consumption, the popularity of Japanese animation, and the success of ICECON (CGV’s alternative content brand) content. The culture of N-times viewing, which was previously centered on blockbuster films with over 10 million viewers, has recently expanded its consumer base to mid-tier films.

Audience interest in extraordinary experiences that can only be felt in theaters is also increasing. A representative example is special theaters; over the past year, the ticket share for CGV’s special theaters increased by 4.5% compared to 2019 before COVID-19. Revenue also increased by 7.6% compared to 2019.

Earlier, CGV announced a plan for a capital increase worth 1 trillion won. CEO Minhoe Heo stated, “We will proceed smoothly with capital expansion plans such as capital increase and contribution in kind by early October to lay the foundation for NEXT CGV.”

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