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| ▲ This photo, provided by Lotte Cultureworks, shows a scene from the upcoming film 'To the Land of Happiness (translated).' (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ This photo, provided by Plus M Entertainment, shows a scene from the film 'The Point Men.' (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
SEOUL, Jan. 25 (Yonhap) – The COVID-19 crisis has hit hard on nearly all aspects of one’s life, and the film industry has not been an exception –- movie theaters have been struggling to survive ever since the pandemic started. Despite the current transition of the pandemic to the endemic phase, the Korean film market has been struggling to get out of the slump.
Since then, it has been all about timing with South Korean films. The film industry has been agonizing over the release date of their new films and when to hit the big screens.
There are more than 10 South Korean films that have entered the “Preparation for Release” phase as of January this year, according to the “Korean Film Production Situation Edition” released by the Korean Film Council on Wednesday. Most of them were filmed during the pandemic, and they were piled up in the warehouse for a year or two.
The second half of the production, which mostly entails editing, was completed way earlier; however, the release date has not yet been officialized.
The upcoming film “Boston 1947” is expected to be released in September during the Chuseok holidays in South Korea. The film, starring South Korean veteran actors Ha Jung-woo and Lim Si-wan, depicts the story of marathoners who competed in the first international marathon since Korea was liberated from Japan in 1945. Director Kang Je-gyu, who is known for several masterpieces including “Shiri” (199) and “Taegeukgi” (2004), was in charge of the production.
Meanwhile, there are multiple films that are done producing but have not yet finalized their release dates: “To the Land of Happiness (translated),” directed by Lim Sang-soo and starring Choi Min-sik and Park Hae-il, which would illustrate an extraordinary accompany of escapees and poor patients; “The Devil’s Deal” directed by Lee Won-tae, who is known for producing the 2019 hit movie “The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil.”
“Killing Romance” (tentative title), starring Lee Hanee, Lee Sun-kyun, and Gongmyeong, as well as “Jeong’s Ranch” (tentative title) with Ryu Seung-ryong and Park Hae-joon, have been geared up for their release a year or two ago; yet, their release dates have not been confirmed.
The reason behind this struggle to pick the right timing is that there are way more variables that must be considered, such as movie trends, changes in moviegoers’ tastes, films released in OTT (Over-the-top) services, and more, as films that have been delayed due to the pandemic are expected to pour out at once. As box office profits can vary greatly depending on when the film hits the big screen, films are engaged in a fierce war of wits.
In particular, the film industry insists that what happens in the theaters during the Lunar New Year holidays could be incorporated as a gauge of what will happen in future theaters.
During this year’s Lunar New Year holidays, “The Point Men,” starring Hwang Jung-min and Hyun Bin, raked in the largest number of admissions and is now running at the forefront; the second place was still held by “Avatar: The Way of Water,” which has been maintaining its juggernaut status since its release on Dec. 14. The animated version of the Japanese manga series “The First Slam Dunk” sat on No.3, and “The Phantom,” which had hit the box office concurrently with “The Point Men,” remained at No.4.
“The Korean works that have recently tasted success, as seen in theaters during the Lunar New Year holidays, are those starring actors with evident ticket powers,” analyzed an official from the film industry.
“Films with production costs that are below the average pursued a strategy of releasing them to theaters during the off-season; however, that no longer seems to work these days, which makes it even more challenging to decide on the release dates,” he added.
Some insist that it will never be easy to garner successful sales outcomes by winning in the war of wits over the release dates and pursuing a theater-oriented strategy. With the COVID-19 pandemic that has been ongoing over the past three years, theaters are not in shape yet, and there are more distribution channels, including OTT services, available instead.
An official from a film distributor said, “What used to work in the film market during the peak season now seems to be invalid. ‘Avatar 2’ did sell a huge number of tickets. But, it tended to start slow before the power of word-of-mouth actually began to bring in some moviegoers,” adding, “The battle is now all about the movie. The movie has to be good.”
“That being said, the logic that used to be embedded in theaters, that ‘Masterpieces must be released in the summers or at the end of the year,’ may no longer work.”
An official from the theater industry also explained, “The theater situation is changing rapidly after the pandemic,” and evaluated, “It is no longer a battle of wits on the release dates, but each film literally has to find one’s own way of survival.”
(This article is translated from Korean to English by Ha eun Lee)
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