March Korean Film Market Share at 25.1%, All-Time Low

Last month, the market share of Korean films was 25.1%, marking the lowest level ever recorded for March.

According to the Korea Film Council's report on the Korean film industry for March 2023, the total revenue last month was 80 billion KRW, which is 63.2% of the level in March 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic. The total revenue increased by 15.9% (11 billion KRW) compared to the previous month and rose by 196.2% (53 billion KRW) compared to March of last year.

[Photo by Yonhap News]

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The total number of moviegoers who visited theaters last month was 7.48 million, which is 51% of the figure in March 2019. This was an increase of 16.4% (1.05 million) from the previous month and a 167% (4.78 million) increase compared to the same month last year.

The Japanese animation Suzume no Tojimari (Director: Shinkai Makoto), which held the top spot at the box office for 32 days since its release, recorded revenue of 33.9 billion KRW (cumulative 34.2 billion KRW) and 3.27 million viewers, ranking first in overall film performance.

Compared to March 2019, total revenue was 63.2%, and the number of viewers was at 51% of that level. Last month, Korean film revenue was 21.5 billion KRW, which is 40.2% of March 2019’s figure. Korean film revenue increased by 59.7% (8 billion KRW) compared to the previous month and rose by 172.8% (13.6 billion KRW) compared to the same month last year. The number of Korean film viewers was 1.87 million, which is 29.9% of the March 2019 level.

Korean films such as Daewoe-bi, Ungnami, and Soulmate were released, increasing the number of releases and leading to growth in revenue and audience compared to the same month last year; however, compared to March 2019, revenue was at 40.2% and audience numbers were at 29.9%.

The market share of Korean films in March was 26.8% in revenue and 25.1% in audience numbers. Excluding the COVID-19 pandemic period from 2020 to 2022, this was the lowest market share recorded since observations began in 2004.

Last month, foreign film revenue was 58.6 billion KRW, increasing by 5.3% (3 billion KRW) compared to the previous month and rising by 205.8% (39.4 billion KRW) compared to the same month last year. The number of viewers was 5.6 million, up 8.8% (450,000) from the previous month and 186.8% (3.65 million) higher than the same month last year.

The cumulative revenue from January to March was 273.1 billion KRW, which is 58.4% of the same period in 2019, and increased by 140.5% (159.6 billion KRW) compared to the same period last year. During this period, the number of viewers was 25.15 million, which is 45.7% of the same period in 2019, and increased by 113.3% (13.36 million) compared to last year.

Director Makoto Shinkai (left) and actress Haran Nanoka
Photo by Yonhap News

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In the first quarter of this year, Korean film revenue increased compared to the same period last year but remained at only 26.7% of the 2019 level. The number of Korean film viewers in the first quarter was just 21.5% of the 2019 figure.

The market share of Korean films in revenue from January to March was 29.2%, and the audience share was 30.3%. The cumulative revenue was 79.8 billion KRW, an 87.2% (37.2 billion KRW) increase compared to the same period last year, and the cumulative audience was 7.61 million, a 69.2% (3.11 million) increase compared to last year.

During the same period, cumulative foreign film revenue was 193.3 billion KRW, a 172.6% (122.4 billion KRW) increase compared to the same period last year. This figure surpassed the foreign film revenue of 168.3 billion KRW in the first quarter of 2019.

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