Korean films have yet to get their foot in the door after pandemic rut

Movies

Published: 25 Apr. 2023, 12:18

Korean films have yet to get their foot in the door after pandemic rut

Moviegoers look at a poster of ″The Roundup″ at CGV Yongsan in central Seoul on June 19, 2022. [NEWS1]

Will the Korean film industry ever get back on its feet again?

It’s not that the cinemas are still empty like they were during the pandemic, but the reality is that the top box office hits that have been attracting moviegoers recently all seem to be all foreign-made films, ranging from last year’s “Avatar: The Way of Water,” which alone surpassed 10 million ticket sales, to the recent successive successes of Japanese animations “The First Slam Dunk” and “Suzume.”

The number of theatergoers so far this year until March, as counted by the integrated computer network for ticket sales by the Korean Film Council (Kofic), was less than half — 45.7 percent at 25 million — of the number the same period in 2019, before the pandemic. This is because of the lack of domestic hits, according to Kofic.

It’s not that Korean film directors have stopped working. They just don’t seem to know when to hit the release button.

According to industry insiders, there are about 90 Korean films that have already been created, but have yet to set a release date. Domestic viewers are complaining that there are no Korean films worth watching, while film companies are complaining that they are unable to release films due to a decrease in theatergoers.

“If this year’s annual audience number stays in the 1 million range like it did last year, investments in films may fall to half of what is was the previous year, and the market itself can shrink indefinitely,” said Lee Ha-young, CEO of production company Haha Films and author of a book which analyzes the Korean box office formula, “Film Distribution and Box Office.”

“Ultimately, the Korean film industry and market may die,” said Lee, posing a death sentence to the previously vibrant domestic film scene.

In other words, Lee is of the opinion that it is highly likely the current hardship faced by domestic films may become even more difficult in the future. The reasons behind domestic-made films not making it big in the box office are complex.

Main poster image for ″Avatar: The Way of Water″ [20TH CENTURY STUDIOS]

This month, the three biggest multiplex companies — CJ CGV, MegaBox and Lotte Cinema — are providing subsidies for domestic films opening in the country, leading to the release of “Rebound,” “Killing Romance” and “Dream.” Although the subsidies plan has resulted in these films finally being open to local audiences, it is unclear whether this will be able to break the barrier.

A number of films have set release dates, including “The Roundup: No Way Out,” the third film to continue the series of “The Outlaws” (2017) and “The Roundup” (2022), which both hit 10 million in ticket sales, “Smuggling” by director Ryoo Seung-wan, and “1947 Boston,” which depicts the true story of an international marathon after the Korean liberation from Japanese colonial rule. But other than these, most works out of the roughly 90 domestic films that have been made and postponed during the pandemic have not set release dates.

Main poster image for ″Suzume″ [TOHO CO, LTD]

“Bogota,” led by actor Song Joong-ki, the sci-fi film “The Moon,” another sci-fi “Wonderland,” and “Citizen Deok-hee,” led by Ra Mi-ran, are a few of the more highly anticipated films that still have not set a release date.

The collapse of the “holdback” practice within the film industry is also a factor contributing to the delay in the normalization of theaters, as content increasingly goes directly to streaming services. Holdback refers to the period of time from the end of a theatrical screening of a film to the release of the film on other platforms such as streaming services.

Conventionally, films' holdback periods last about 45 days — meaning that once a theatrical screening ends, audiences would have to wait 45 days to see the film on a streaming service. But since the pandemic, the holdback period has been reduced to as short as two weeks or one month at the longest.

As a result, people's viewing habits have changed. Now, even without going to a theater, new releases can soon enough be watched on a streaming service with just a little extra patience.

“I heard that when streaming services purchase a film worth 10 billion won [$7.6 million] from investors and distributors, they ask to contract other works as a package and set conditions for holdback practices,” an official from a production company said on the request of anonymity. “It is not easy to refuse these demands, because we have to get the money back from investing in films to run the company.”

Main poster image for ″The First Slam Dunk″ [TOEI COMPANY]

Voices from within the film industry are calling for a regulation to normalize holdback practices, in order for films to be screened theatrically for a stable period before being moved over to streaming services.

There is also an opinion that the increase in ticket prices, which rose three times during the pandemic, is holding back the normalization of theater-going. The rise in ticket prices was a self-rescue method for theaters experiencing operational difficulties, but due to the price burden on consumers, viewer numbers have decreased drastically and the public’s sentiment toward films has become harsher.

There are cautious predictions that it will take quite a while for domestic films to return to theaters en masse. This is because it is virtually impossible to lower the already increased theater ticket price, and investment distributors are holding back from releasing films to see whether theaters will perk up following the release of “The Roundup: No Way Out.”

Others have more hopeful outlooks.

“It is unfortunate that we could not watch ‘Space Sweepers’ on the big screen, but with the release of the film on a streaming service, many people saw the film during the pandemic,” said Jeong Guen-wook, vice president of Merry Christmas, an investment and distribution company that released the sci-fi film “Space Sweepers” (2021) on Netflix. “We started working with other streaming services such as Disney+ after that experience. Since dramas and films have different production systems and consumption patterns of audiences are changing, a hybrid mix of production may have a positive effect on diversifying content in the long run. I do not think that it is necessarily a loss for one side.”

Some companies are facing the changing scope of production and distribution head-on. Companies such as Barunson E&A, a production company that has seen massive success with films such as “Parasite” (2019) and has expanded into investment and distribution, and MindMark, a Shinsegae-affiliated distribution company, are some examples. Barunson E&A has recently focused on new investment and distribution business on pioneering overseas markets that can complement the difficult domestic film market.

“The film industry is experiencing difficulties due to the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, but Korean films have a competitive edge,” said Kwak Shin-ae, CEO of Barunson E&A. “World-class staff and industrial infrastructure will not disappear so easily. We are seeking various ways to expand to overseas markets in order to overcome the current crisis.”

Whether or not the domestic film industry can climb above these complexities and challenges is yet to be seen.

BY NA WON-JEONG, NAM SOO-HYOUN [kjdculture@joongang.co.kr]