[ad_1]
Four new Korean movie “blockbusters” are set to hit local cinemas this summer, complete with large production budgets and star-studded lineups. Film distributors hope to attract large audiences in the aftermath of the pandemic, but moviegoers’ expectations remain low. With the abundance of high quality content available on streaming platforms and soaring ticket prices, Korean audiences have shown a growing trend of consuming content at home, only venturing to cinemas if the ticket is truly worth the price. It remains to be seen whether struggling film distributors will find success with their upcoming summer releases. Korean box office admissions in 2023 are only around 50 percent of the pre-pandemic levels, though box office receipts are around 60 percent because of higher ticket prices.
The typical break-even point is around 2- 2.5x the budget of the movie. In Korea, 1.6 million tickets sold ($12 million receipts) is average break even point for $6 million film budget. “The Roundup: No Way Out” cost 13.5 billion won ($10.25 million) to make but had more than 10.6 million admissions to gross $81 million. Despite this success, local Korean films only have yielded less than 34 percent of total domestic box office. Only “Hero” is the other Korean film in the current top ten with $13.8 million box office, but did not make a profit with a break event point of around $22 million. Foreign animation movies have dominated the charts.
The four Korean “blockbuster” summer movies to be released are:
“Smugglers,” with a production budget of around 20 billion won ($15.8 million), the film tells the story of the residents of a peaceful seaside town, many of whom are involved in smuggling. It started off well in its debut day with $2 million gross.
“Ransomed,” directed by Kim Seong-hoon, featuring Ha Jung-woo and Ju Ji-hoon, a familiar duo from “Along with the Gods.” It also had a production budget of 20 billion won ($15.8 million). It revolves around the story of a diplomat, Min-jun (Ha), and a local taxi driver, Pan-su (Ju), in Lebanon. Their mission is to rescue a fellow diplomat. Filming involved a 6 month-long shoot in Morocco and includes realistic car chasing scenes.
“The Moon,” which had a production budget of about 28 billion won ($22.4 million), is about an astronaut abandoned on dark side of the moon. The film’s scale, detailed set design and sophisticated use of computer graphics are key points of anticipation for audiences. However, Korean sci-fi films have generally been unpopular.
Last on the list is “Concrete Utopia.” Based on the second part of the hit webtoon series “Pleasant Neighbor,” the film tells the story of apartment residents whose lives are in danger in the aftermath of an earthquake. The film had a production budget of 20 billion won ($15.8 million). Although the plot line may be relatable to our everyday lives, as many Koreans spend a lot of time in their apartments, not many webtoon-inspired films have had…
[ad_2]
Source link