[The Crisis of Korean Cinema] A Film Made in 3 Years Disappears from Theaters in 7 Days... The Trap of the Standard Contract

Fulfilling the Seven-Day Requirement with Just One Screening per Day
Disruption of the Entire Investment Recovery Pipeline

A movie theater in Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

Movies that have taken hundreds of people several years to complete are screened in theaters just seven times before disappearing. This is not accidental; it is a system explicitly outlined in contracts.

The current standard movie screening contract specifies a minimum screening period of seven days. This number became established in the early 2000s with the onset of the multiplex era. In the past, during the era of single-screen theaters, the minimum screening period was not defined, and films could be shown for several months depending on their popularity. However, as major theater chains came to dominate the market, "at least seven days" became the standard. Distributors had no choice but to accept this in order to secure theater slots.

The problem is that the standard is based on "days," not "number of screenings." Even if a film is shown just once a day—for instance, at 10 a.m.—it is still considered "one day of screening" under the contract. When films are scheduled at times that are difficult for audiences to attend, the seats remain empty, but the days are counted. If a film is shown once a day for seven days, for a total of seven screenings, the contractual obligation is fulfilled and the distributor can be notified that the film's run is over.

In a system where concentrating screens on top-grossing movies maximizes short-term profits, existing films are quickly removed when a new title is released. The seven-day minimum screening rule has effectively become a legal mechanism to guarantee this turnover.

Independent film producer A said, "A film that took three years to make disappeared from theaters after just one week," and lamented, "When I counted the number of screenings, it was not even twenty times." They added, "Even then, most screenings were in the first morning slot," and expressed frustration that, "There was nothing wrong with this according to the contract."

On the other hand, for theaters, rapid screen turnover is a survival strategy. Multiplexes have to bear high rents and labor costs. In the Korean market, where a film is considered a box office success if its seat occupancy rate exceeds just 30%, it is difficult to cover fixed costs if films with few audiences are screened for extended periods. A representative from a theater chain, B, stated, "The monthly maintenance cost per screen runs into tens of millions of won, so if we cannot fill seats, we incur losses," adding, "In reality, it is impossible to keep unsuccessful films running for long periods."

A movie theater in Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

However, early termination is not just a problem for theater revenues. It disrupts the entire channel for recouping production costs. Once a film leaves theaters, it heads straight to IPTV or OTT platforms. Generally, films that have not found sufficient audiences in theaters are priced lower in both IPTV and OTT deals. The less time a film spends in theaters, the less value it commands in subsequent distribution channels.

A distributor representative, C, commented, "Films that fail at the box office are essentially forced to lower prices or run promotions in secondary markets," adding, "At least major distributors can bundle these with successful films to minimize losses." They went on to say, "As the recovery rate of investments declines, the ability to invest in future films is also reduced, creating a vicious cycle."

In the past, there was a culture of long-running screenings in domestic theaters. Director Yang Woo-seok, known for "The Attorney" (2013) and "Steel Rain" (2017), recalled, "'Sopyonje' (1993) was screened for over a year in a handful of theaters, surpassing 10 million viewers," and added, "It was an important milestone that demonstrated Korean films could achieve remarkable results." He continued, "Rather than films that draw 10 million viewers in one or two weeks, movies that are shown over a long period like 'Sopyonje' would be of greater benefit to theaters."

Park Gwansu, vice president of the Korean Film Producers Association, emphasized, "Cultural diversity and fairness are not just universal values, but necessities for the industry's growth," and added, "This is the time to seriously consider how the industry can grow in the long run, rather than focusing only on immediate gains."

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