43,000 Fewer Moviegoers During Lunar New Year Holiday... Only 'Wongka' Hits Big

The Hollywood fantasy film 'Wonka' attracted 780,000 viewers during the Lunar New Year holiday period, securing the top spot at the box office. Several Korean films released ahead of the holiday posted disappointing results.

According to the Korea Film Council's integrated ticket sales network on the 13th, over the four days of the Lunar New Year holiday from the 9th to the 12th, 'Wonka' (directed by Paul King) drew 750,493 viewers, ranking first at the box office. Since its release on the 31st of last month, it has recorded a cumulative audience of 1,813,448.

Movie 'Wonka' stills
[Photo by Warner Bros. Korea]

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'Wonka' is a film based on the novel by author Roald Dahl, depicting the boyhood of Wonka, the world's greatest chocolate factory owner. It portrays the childhood of 'Willy Wonka,' well known from Tim Burton's film 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' (2005). Actor Timothy Chalamet played Wonka. Among the films released targeting the Lunar New Year holiday, only 'Wonka' enjoyed great success, attracting 750,000 viewers over four days and standing out as the sole box office hit.

In second place was 'Citizen Deokhee' (directed by Choi Young-joo), starring actress Ra Mi-ran, which drew 458,624 viewers. Released on the 24th of last month, it has accumulated 1,488,441 viewers. It is expected to surpass the break-even point of 1.6 million viewers soon.

The documentary film 'Founding War' (directed by Kim Deok-young), which sheds light on the life and political career of former President Syngman Rhee, attracted 236,438 viewers and ranked third, achieving unexpected box office success. This was influenced by political figures from the ruling party, including Han Dong-hoon, the emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party, who shared their viewing reviews, drawing public interest.

The three Korean films released on the 7th for the holiday gathered only about a quarter of 'Wonka's audience. The film 'Dog Days' (directed by Kim Deok-min), featuring actors Youn Yuh-jung and Yoo Hae-jin and centered on pets, attracted 200,465 viewers, the highest among them. 'Dead Man' (directed by Ha Jun-won), starring Jo Jin-woong and Kim Hee-ae, drew 141,900 viewers, and 'Picnic' (directed by Kim Yong-gyun), starring Na Moon-hee and Kim Young-ok, which deals with the lives of the elderly, attracted 136,246 viewers, ranking 4th, 5th, and 6th respectively. Their break-even points are 2 million for 'Dog Days,' 1.8 million for 'Dead Man,' and 250,000 for 'Picnic.'

Seoul theater district view
[Photo by Yonhap News]

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The total number of moviegoers visiting theaters over the four days of the Lunar New Year holiday was about 2.19 million. On the first day of the holiday, the 9th, 429,776 people visited theaters; on Lunar New Year's Day, the 10th, 527,503; on the 11th, 633,479; and on the 12th, 607,909. During the same four-day period last year (January 21-24), the total audience was about 2.63 million, marking a decrease of approximately 430,000 (16.5%) this year.

It was once again confirmed that the so-called 'blockbuster films' were absent during this Lunar New Year holiday. Last year, big-budget films costing over 10 billion won such as 'Negotiation' and 'Phantom' suffered from poor box office performance, leading major productions to hesitate to release films this year. Small to mid-sized films aimed to generate buzz and succeed through word of mouth but failed to attract significant audience response.

Attributing the poor box office performance of theatrical films to the impact of OTT (online video services) is considered 'a thing of the past.' Looking at the box office trends of films released last year, such as 'Spring in Seoul,' which attracted 10 million viewers, industry consensus is that the era when scale, release timing, and marketing gimmicks could deceive audiences is over. The significant drop in audience numbers during this year's Lunar New Year holiday is widely agreed to be due to 'a lack of many worthwhile films to watch.'

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