F9 seizes record as Hollywood expands recovery role at Korean box office

F9 became the most watched foreign film in the South Korea since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic another weekend where Hollywood and Japanese titles have dominated South Korean box office.

The weekend box office chart was led by Cruel, which held firm in its third frame and switched places with the most recent The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It.

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Cruella scored $ 1.82 million according to data from Kobis, the Korean Film Councils’ movie tracking service, down just 17% from its second release. Since its release on May 26, Cruella has racked up $ 8.29 million.

The Conjuring 2 grossed $ 1.45 million, down 46% from its opening weekend. Since June 3, he has earned $ 5.51 million.

New version, Wrath of Man came in third position. It took $ 967,000 between Friday and Sunday and $ 1.44 million since it opened in Korean theaters on June 9.

F9 slipped another gear and went from third to fourth with $ 746,000 over the weekend. But its racy performances now make it the biggest film of 2021 in Korea. It has racked up $ 18.9 million out of 2.19 million ticket sales since its release on May 19.

In doing so, it overtook Demon Slayer The Movie: Mugen Train and Soul the previous top movies of 2021. It is also ahead of Tenet, the previous post-pandemic favorite among imported titles. The main titles in Korea since the pandemic are both The Korean Peninsula and Deliver Us From Evil with more than three million tickets sold.

(The Fast And The Furious, the franchise’s first film, will be re-released in Korea on Wednesday in a 4D version with 3D and atmospheric effects added.)

Japanese animated title Earwig And The Witch was released on Thursday and took fifth place in the weekend’s box office charts, albeit a significant distance behind the top four. He won $ 135,000 between Friday and Sunday and $ 153,000 over four days.

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The previews of A Quiet Place: Part II were good enough to place the film in sixth place. It has now earned $ 131,000, ahead of its official release on June 16.

Demon Slayer placed seventh at $ 74,000 this weekend, for a cumulative $ 18.2 million since hitting Korean screens in late January.

The best film made in Korea was Pipeline in eighth position. It earned $ 30,700, rocking its cumulative over $ 1 million in its third weekend since its release on May 26.

Distributors of locally made films have been hesitant to commit to release dates at a time when Korean audiences this year seemed nervous about in-person screenings. This meant that Korean theaters failed to participate in an ongoing box office revival in other parts of Asia-Pacific Region.

Without compelling local titles, the box office in Korea has failed to rebuild itself solidly. And this weekend, a national total of $ 5.63 million is the fourth-highest weekend total of 2021.

The contrast between approaches to Korean titles and Hollywood releases is notable. But one crucial difference is that, while Hollywood titles open up as part of broader international release campaigns, local films still rely heavily on their domestic market, and a box office failure would be costly.

Several theaters across Korea have been closed and exhibition chains are creaking. In the past few days, number two channel Lotte announced its second pandemic era ticket price hike. It adds 1,000 KRW ($ 0.90) to the price of tickets, which means tickets sold on weekends will cost KRW 14,000, $ 12.55 each starting July 1.

The company, which was in deficit in 2020 and the first quarter of 2021, previously raised prices for turnstiles in December and once again claims it needs to improve revenues to survive. Leading marker, CJ-CGV raised its prices in October 2020 and April 2021.

Korean films could be back next month. Lotte recently announced that their Escape From Mogadishu directed by Ryoo Seung-wan will open this summer. Next Entertainment World says its hostage: Missing Celebrity is also planning a summer vacation outing.

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