Korean movies notch up higher number in 1Q ticket sales

Movie posters from top left to right: “War on Crime: the Golden Age of Bad Guys," "Dancing Queen," "Unbowed," "Introduction to Architecture," "Love Fiction" and "Helpless" [Showbox/CJ Entertainment/Aura Pictures/Lotte Entertainment/Next Entertainment World/Filament Pictures]

Korean films kept a strong presence at the domestic box office during the first quarter this year, according to the data by the Korean Film Council (KOFIC).

KOFIC's quarterly report on the local film industry reported on Monday that Korean movies accounted for 60.8 percent of the total market share at the local box office between January and March 2012.

Compared to the figures from last week's first quarter, Korean films' saw a rise of moviegoers by 19.3 percent and its sales increase by 17.3 percent, due to the strong performance of domestic films.

"Dancing Queen," "Unbowed" and "War on Crime: the Golden Age of Bad Boys” each drew in over three million moviegoers, competing well against Hollywood blockbuster "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol," which dominated Korean theaters for multiple weeks since its release in mid-December.

KOFIC cited that the ten most-watched films in the country during the period includes seven Korean movies -- "War on Crime: the Golden Age of Bad Boys” (at No. 1 with 4.6 million admissions), "Dancing Queen" (at No. 2 with 4 million), "Unbowed" (at No. 3 with 3.4 million), "Helpless" (at No. 5 with 2.4 million), "Introduction to Architecture" (at No. 6 with 2.3 million), "Love Fiction" (at No. 8 with 1.7 million) and "Howling" (at No. 9 with 1.5 million).

Meanwhile, "Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol" led foreign films in the top ten list with 7.5 million admits during the same period, followed by "Puss in Boots" (No. 7 with 2.1 million) and French film "The Intouchables" (No. 10 with 1.2 million).

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