May/June 2007
Korean Domestic Box Office: May 4th -6th 2007 (93% of screens reporting)
Source: KOFIC Name of Film Week Number of Admissions 3-Day (Won) 3-Day Gross ($) Number of Screens Total Gross ($) Spiderman 3 (U.S) Sony Pictures NEW 1,566,420 9,951,443,500 10,727,006 778 16,446,489 My Son (아들) (S Kor) Cinema Service NEW 165,174 1,061,060,500 1,143,754 269 1,672,005 Paradise Murdered (S Kor)(극락도 살인사건) Cinema Service 4 155,593 984,201,000 1,060,904 233 12,527,474 Bunt (날아라 허동구) (S Kor) Showbox/Mediaplex 2 89,204 543,342,500 585,688 216 1,985,005 Shooter (US) CJ Ent 2 80,121 535,582,500 577,323 144 2,521,382 TMNT (HK-US) Lotte Ent 2 72,903 436,275,000 470,276 200 1,043,702 The Reaping (US) Warner Bros 3 66,055 426,005,500 459,206 128 3,659,818 My Tutor Friend 2 (동갑내기 과외하기 레슨 II) (S Kor) CJ Ent 3 40,991 246,888,000 266,129 111 3,330,972 Meet The Robinsons (US) Sony Pictures 3 21,591 131,925,500 142,207 53 755,027 The Show Must Go On (우아한 세계) (S Kor) Lotte Ent 5 6,145 38,506,500 41,507 46 6,481,138
Well, Spiderman 3...
I expected it to do well, but $16 million - that is phenominal. Now,
here comes the but. 778 screens - where did these screens come from? I
do wonder... But you have to give credit to Sony Pictures International
Releasing who have obviously spent serious(!) time liasing exhibitrors.
There was alot of discussion when The Host was released on 617 screens, but 778, well that is something. But, although it may seem it has broken records, The Host,
whilst on 617 screens managed 1,612,090 on its opening weekend, so I am
sorry Spiderman; this is one industry you cannot crack!
Meanwhile My Son (아들) tops the Korean releases, but the gamble of trying to capture audiences unable to see Spiderman 3 hasn't really paid off. Paradise Murdered (극락도 살인사건) is
still attracting the audiences - $12.5 million to date. If I am not
mistaken, at present, it is the most successful Korean film since
Miracle on 1st Street (1번가의 기적), which was released in February. 
My Son (아들) written and directed by Jang Jin (장진)
Bunt (날아라 허동구), hasn't improved on last week as does My Tutor Friend 2 (동갑내기 과외하기 레슨 II). Meanwhile, The Show Must Go On (우아한 세계) hasn't finshed yet - it hangs in 10th place, but it is nevertheless, a significant disappointment.
As for the Hollywood films, Shooter and The Reaping are performing poorly, as is almost every film from the impact of Spiderman 3. However, Meet the Robinsons meanwhile remains comfortably at 9th place.
Korean Domestic Box Office: May 11th - 13th (93% of screens reporting)
Sources: KOFIC & hancinema Name of Film Week Number of Admissions (Total) 3- Day Gross (won) 3-day Gross ($) Number of Screens Total Gross($) Spiderman 3 (U.S) Sony Pictures 2 881,350 (3,691,315) 5,627,696,500 6,088,933 664 25,240,592 Unstoppable Marriage (못말리는 결혼) (S Kor) Lotte Ent NEW 308,578 (355,815) 2,007,702,500 2,172,250 276 2,470,461 Paradise Murdered (극락도 살인사건) (S Kor) MK Pictures 5 91,259 (2,034,020) 577,205,000 624,512 199 13,615,943 MY Son (아들) (S Kor) Cinema Service 2 70,938 (385,461) 448,935,000 485,729 216 2,577,000 Shooter (U.S) CJ Ent 3 43,372 (454,946) 321,871,000 348,251 105 3,148,749 Memories of Tomorrow (Jap) UPI NEW 38,762 (46,410) 257,592,000 278,704 103 32,804 The Reaping (U.S) Warner Bros 4 37,307 (622,610) 238,899,500 258,479 94 4,167,515 Dragon Tiger Gate (HK) Studio 2.0 NEW 33,467 (51,213) 215,125,000 232,756 145 322,199 Bunt (날아라 허동구) (S Kor) Showbox/Mediaplex 3 24,817 (367,742) 145,679,500 157,619 121 2,381,452 TMNT (U.S, H.K) Lotte Ent 3 19,687 (182,000) 96,536,000 104,448 11 1,178,539
As
you can see, I have also put in the total admissions for each film,
which you may find useful, rather than just the weekend's.
It is not a surprise to see Spiderman 3
remain at No.1, but it has seen a big drop in admissions since last
week - almost 700,000 admissions. Mind you, this has been seen
elsewhere, including the U.S where it saw a 60% drop.
Unstoppable Marriage (못말리는 결혼) opens
promisingly with a revenue of almost $2.5 million. Perhaps this may
ease some of the industry experts who are becoming very negative
regarding the sluggish Korean film industry at present. This article from
the Korea herald illustrates that there needs to be an emphasis on
lower production costs to protect the industry, not least because
Korean films are struggeling against non-Korean competition. There is
alot of truth in it - indeed, it is a wise move to lower production
costs, particuarly celebrity wages - sorry guys!
This year, as
I have pointed out before will be a real test for the Korean film
industry. Hollywood blockbusters are coming out left, right and centre,
however Hollywood is only part of their competition. Films from other
parts of the world are also infiltrating the Korean film market - we
have see Perfume: The Story Of a Murderer
make $5.4 million after 3 weeks on release, which is not bad for a
European film - so it could be argued, that Korean films have a rather
bleak future. However, if the Koreans can make some necessary changes,
which I am confident they will, this era will be seen as another
defniitve chapter of success for the Korean film industry. But one
change, I strongly suggest they think about, is to significantly drop
the price of DVD's in Korea, so people are at least tempted to buy
them. As I walk around the shops, it shocks me how much they ask
(27,000 won - £18) for any DVD - no promotions. In the U.K however,
which is on the whole more expensive than Korea, you can buy 3 DVD's
for this price - even Korean ones - during the sale period, which is
pretty much all year round as retailers are forced to bring down their
prices.
Returning back to the box office - please forgive me sliding of track for a minute. Paradise Murdered (극락도 살인사건) is still performing well. At over 2 million admissions, it will certainly please those at MK Pictures.
MY Son (아들) on the other hand is looking to be another flop, or at least a disappointment. It falls behind Paradise Murdered (극락도 살인사건), which has been on release for 5 weeks, and now on 17 fewer screens. Bunt (날아라 허동구) meanwhile
has been taken off from over 100 screens, and subsequently seen a big
drop in admissions, but it was hardly performing wonderfully in the
first place.
The rest of the box office is dominated by
non-Korean films - all of which are witnessing fairly mediocre
performances in the top 10. The worst being Dragon Tiger Gate, which didn't even make 35,000 admissions on 145 screens - oh dear!
Korean Domestic Box Office: May 18th - 20th (93% of screens reporting)
Sources: KOFIC & hancinema Name of Film Week Number of Admissions (Total) 3-Day Gross (won) 3- Day Gross ($) Number of Screens Total Gross ($) Spider-Man 3 (US) Sony Pictures 3 371,223
(4,330,387) 2,408,607 2,589,000 562
29,396,000 Unstoppable Marriage (못말리는 결혼) (S Korea) Lotte Ent 2 284,595
(831,643) 1,864,001 2,003,000 285 5,715,000 Next (US) CJ Ent 2 224,820
(257,044) 1,491,001 1,602,000 164 1,821,000 Nada SoSo (涙そうそう) (Jap) Microvision NEW 64,508
(87,640) 407,940 438,000 136 560,000 Paradise Murdererd (극락도 살인사건) (S Korea) MK Pictures 6 46,862
(2,125,174) 302,153 325,000 172 14,137,000 My Son (아들) (Mon Fils A Moi) Cinema Service 3 37,116
(457,460) 231,098 248,000 189 3,026,000 Shooter (US) CJ Ent 4 33,217
(457,460) 227,711 245,000 86 3,555,000 The Reaping (US) Warner Bros 6 22,426
(668,169) 142,136 153,000 77 4,443,000 Sorrow Even Up In Heaven (저 하늘에도 슬픔이) (S Korea) Moviez Ent NEW 19,193
(24,892) 124,095 133,000 66 174,000 Memories of Tomorrow (明日の記憶) (Jap) UPI 2 14,472
(82,702) 95,707 103,000 94 562,000
Spiderman remains No.1 for one more week, but the chances of it staying there is highly remote, seeing that Pirates of the Carribean: At Worlds End is released next week. But, going on $30 million is not bad at all....
Unstoppable Marriage (못말리는 결혼) is still firmly set in second place. Meanwhile, with regards to other Korean releases.. Paradise Murdered (극락도 살인사건)
slips to 5th place, but now has hit just over 2 million admissions,
which means it won't make a loss - any money now will be seen as
profit. But this does emphasise how difficult it is to reach this
point. 
Unstoppable Marriage (못말리는 결혼)
(above) directed by Kim Seong-wook (김성욱) starring Ha Seok-jin (하석진)
(See you after school (방과후 옥상)) and Yoo Jin (유진) - both above playing
characters (Ki-baek (Ha Seok-jin) & Eun-ho (Yoo Jin)),
who initially hate each other, as they come from very different
backgrounds, but they end of falling in love. The only problem is that
they now have to convince their parents...
My Son (아들) is slipping away, which will disappoint cinema service. Finally Sorrow Even Up In Heaven (저 하늘에도 슬픔이) opens on merely 66 screens with a return of 174,000, which is not too bad.
As for non-Korean releases. Next is
a mystery. It opened in 11th place, hence its omission last week, and
on its second week it rises to 3rd place, with a fairly modest
performance. NaDa SoSo (涙そうそう) from Japan opens very poorly - woops.. Shooter is still fighting on generating 33,217 admissions on 86 screens as is The Reaping on 77 screens. Finally Memories of Tomorrow (明日の記憶),
on its 2nd week of release has only made just over 0.5 million in
total, despite being screened on a fairly high number of screens for
this return. It is not a good week for Japanese films...
Korean Domestic Box Office: May 25th - 27th (93% of screens reporting)
Sources: KOFIC & hancinema Name of Film Week Number of Admissions (Total) 3-Day Gross (won) 3-Day Gross ($) Number of Screens Total Gross ($) Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End (US) Sony Pictures NEW 1,484,222
(2,491,438) 9,400,220,500 9,928,936 933 16,602,166 Secret Sunshine (밀양) (S Korea) Prime Ent NEW 198,923
(324,259)1,317,872,000 1,391,996 243 2,242,173 The Evil Twin (전설의 고향) (S Korea) Prime Ent NEW 123,585
(212,730) 785,248,500 829,415 196 1,424,061 Spider-Man 3 (US) Sony Pictures 4 100,454
(4,555,742) 629,445,500 664,849 236 30,394,097 Unstoppable Marriage (못말리는 결혼) (S Korea) Lotte Ent 3 87,676
(1,050,090) 565,555,000 597,365 211 7,090,814 Next (US) CJ Ent 3 51,178
(394,209) 341,597,000 360,810 160 2,742,671 Nada SoSo (Jap) Microvision 2 4,627
(110,937) 29,434,000 31,090 51 705,637 Shooter (US) CJ Ent 5 2,619
(530,011) 18,284,000 19,312 11 3,590,929 The Reaping (US) Warner Bros 6 1,900
(675,903) 11,817,500 12,482 14 4,417,303 Paradise Murdered (극락도 살인사건) (S Korea) MK PIctures 7 1,862
(2,137,528) 11,591,500 12,243 23 13,975,948
Well, it came as little surprise that Pirates Of The Carribean: At World's End would fly ahead. It beat Spider-Man 3
in its Total Gross by just over 150,000, but it fell short by just
under 80,000 admissions. All in all, it is about even, but there are
other things to consider. Pirates Of The Carribean: At World's End
was released earlier - Wednesday I believe - and look at the number of
screens it was screened on. Well, this becomes more disturbing when you
see the number of screens Paradise Murdered (극락도 살인사건) was
screened on, 23. Last week, it was on 172 screens, and although it was
slipping, reducing it to so few screens, is probably due to the immense
pressure from Hollywood studios, which in turn is possible through the
reduced screen quota. So, it has been discussed and discussed, but was
there any evidence to suggest its detrimental impact on the Korean film
industry? Little, if any as it was too early to tell, but this
indicates, at least in part of the consequences of the reduced Screen
Quota system. However Paradise Murdered (극락도 살인사건)
was on its 7th week on release and its drop in admissions last week
would indeed suggest a drop, but a drop of this magnitude combined the
explosive opening of Pirates Of The Carribean: At World's End,
could suggest otherwise. But, as I keep saying, this is a very
difficult year for Korean films, but it will no doubt push Korean films
in a new direction with greater success.
As for Secret Sunshine (밀양)
releasing it to conincide with Cannes, hasn't paid off and as a result
some of its would-be success has been eaten by the Pirates. However
with the victory for Jeon Do-yeon (전도연) in Cannes will no doubt lift
admissions for a film that is very difficult to watch. 
Secret Sunshine (밀양) directed and written by Lee Chang-dong (이창동) starring Cannes best actress winner Jeon Do-yeon (전도연) and high profile actor Song Kang-ho (송강호)
Meanwhile The Evil Twin (전설의 고향) hasn't performed wonderfully either, whereas Unstoppable Marriage (못말리는 결혼), despite intense competition it is doing quite well. No
doubt, it has a perfect Korean balance of humour and romance to attract viewers. 
The
Evil Twin (전설의 고향) directed by Kim Ji-hwan (김지환) and starring Park
Sin-hye (박신혜) and Jae Hee (재희) (3-Iron (빈집), The Art of Fighting (싸움의
기술)
Other Hollywood films such as Next, are seeing an expected drop, but not as much as Shooter and The Reaping, which have evidently experienced some of the fierce competition.
Nada SoSo (涙そうそう) is trying to remain strong, but whether it will make $1 million remains to be seen.
Korean Domestic Box Office: 1st - 3rd June 2007 (93% of screens reporting)
Sources: KOFIC & hancinema Name of Film Week Number of Admissions 3-Day Gross (won) 3-Day Gross ($) Number of Screens Total Gross ($) Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End (US) Sony Pictures 2 693,269
(3,589,641) 4,487,034, 500 4,833,083 736 24,567,984 Secret Sunshine (밀양) (S Korea) Prime Ent 2 336,207
(919,830) 2,193,000,000 2,362,128 286 6,363,542 The Evil Twin (전설의 고향) (S Korea) Prime Ent 2 75,339
(333,587) 480,571,500 517,634 188 2,281,619 Unstoppable in Marriage (못말리는 결혼) (S Korea) Lotte Ent 4 68,254
(1,166,637) 442,051,000 476,143 183 8,023,611 Spider-Man 3 (US) BVI, Sony Pictures 5 49,625
(4,630,343) 321,258,500 346,035 197 31,506,818 Confession Of Pain (Seung sing) (HK) Showbox/Mediaplex NEW 46,212
(56,476) 316,906,500 341,347 97 401,472 Next (US) CJ Ent 4 35,000
(458,512) 230,055,500 247,798 124 3,240,779 Death Water (Mizuchi) (Jap) Microvision NEW 34,727
(458,512) 224,692,500 242,021 60 276,191 Factory Girl (US) Sponge Ent NEW 5,355
(6,509) 37,407,500 40,292 11 48,469 Paradise Murdered (극락도 살인사건) (S Korea) MK Pictures 8 930
(2,139,376) 5,951,500 6,410 10 14,264,603
I was expecting more from Secret Sunshine (밀양)
last weekend (am I being wildly optimistic?!), especially because it
was expected to triple its number of admissions from the weekend before
and thus take the lead, but unfortunately on 66 extra screens, it has
seen an increase of 58.93%. However, its total number of admissions has
tripled, though this obvioulsy takes into account of Monday through to
Thursday, which wasn't the case the previous week. Nevertheless, its
increase for a film that is by no means commerical, is a considerable
success.
Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End still remains at the top, but falls behind what Spider-man 3 took by its second week by 101,674 admissions on 72 fewer screens. Quite ironic, seeing the reception forPirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End has been more positive.
Meanwhile The Evil Twin (전설의 고향) slips a little in the number of admissions, but remains at No.3. Unstoppable Marriage (못말리는 결혼)
has moved up a place despite a fall of almost 20,000 admissions. It has
now generated 1,166,637 admissions, which is not too bad. As for the
remaining Korean film, Paradise Murdered (극락도 살인사건); it
still fighting on in 10th place with 930 admissions over the weekend.
This does suggest that last weekend was both a quiet weekend, but also
a weekend dominated by the Pirates, and to a certain extent, Secret Sunshine (밀양).
As for other films; Confession Of Pain (Seung sing) is not doing too badly on 97 screens. Next,
which stars Nicholas Cage, who is married to a Korean - incedently she
is in the film for a minute or two - has no doubt helped it to remain
in the box office for a 4th week. Death Water has opened well on 60 screens, and Sponge Entertainment cannot complain with 5,355 admissions for Factory Girl on 11 screens.
Korean Domestic Box Office: 8th - 10th June 2007 (93% of screens reporting)
Sources: KOFIC & hancinema Name of Film Week Number of Admissions 3-Day Gross (won) 3-Day Gross ($) Number of Screens Total Gross to 10th June 2007 ($) Shrek The Third (US) CJ Ent NEW 823,039
(1,541,121) 5,280,843,500 5,670,704 569 10,740,879 Hwang Jin Yi (황진이) (S Korea) CJ Ent NEW 312,717
(633,876) 2,113,220,000 2,269,230 404 4,604,833 Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End (US) Sony Pictures 3 239,108
(4,115,392) 1,537,902,000 1,651,438 417 27,836,653 Secret Sunshine (밀양) (S Korea) Prime Ent 3 136,547
(1,260,678) 898,911,500 965,274 237 8,671,351 The Messengers (US) Prime Ent NEW 77,343
(138,399) 507,175,000 544,617 138 982,990 Unstoppable Marriage (못말리는 결혼) (S Korea) Lotte Ent 5 6,767
(1,192,768) 43,520,500 46,733 44 8,154,179 Death Water (Mizuchi) (Jap) Microvision 2 6,418
(57,708) 43,005,500 46,180 69 397,119 Confession of Pain (HK) Showbox/Mediaplex 2 5,890
(71,394) 41,156,500 44,195 37 513,136 Spider-Man 3 (US) BVI, Sony Pictures 6 3,754
(4,644,947) 23,060,000 24,762 32 31,473,410 The Evil Twin (전설의 고향) (S Korea) Prime Ent 3 2,421
(349,876) 15,408,500 16,546 21 2,357,410
The big disappointment of the weekend is clearly Hwang Jin Yi (황진이). Although Shrek The Third was
released on more screens, 312,717 admissions or just over $2.25 million
on 404 screens is not good. In fact the screen average for Shrek The Third was $9,966, which is considerably higher than Hwang Jin Yi (황진이)
which was $5,617. One must ask why? It may mean that some have lost
faith in Korean films, or compared to U.S films, they are less
enjoyable at present. It is very tempting to list all the possibilites
and go on forever, but I won't. It was well marketed, as far I can tell
- knowing CJ Entertainment, they won't hold back - and the fact that it
was well anticipated doesn't help things... But, at the end of the day
Shrek is good fun, and maybe that was what the majority of audiences
wanted, rather than watch a film based on a Korea's most famous
gisaeng, adopted from a famous novel written by Norh Korean Hong
Seok-jung, which has also been made into a T.V Series. Personally, I
rather watch the latter.
Hwang Jin Yi (황진이) directed by Jang Yoon-hyeon (장윤현) and starring
Song Hye-kyo (송혜교), but is she a miscast - this is very different to her previous
films (My Girl and I (파랑주의보)
Both Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End and Secret Sunshine (밀양)
have slipped, but they are both still making fairly handsome returns.
The former is on the way to make $30 million, wheras the latter is
almost certain to break the $10 million barrier. It is not amazing, but
for a film that has very little enjoyment, one cannot complain too
much, though after the Cannes win for Jeon Do-yeon, some were expecting
more.
As for the remaining Korean films on show; Unstoppable Marriage (못말리는 결혼)
has seen a 90% drop, since last week - this is largely down to the fact
that has been removed from 139 screens. There has been alot of that
recently...Last week it was Paradise Murdered (극락도 살인사건), now Unstoppable Marriage (못말리는 결혼) and indeed, The Evil Twin (전설의 고향), which has seen a greater drop, from 3rd to 10th place on 167 less screens. Evidently, they are lacking screens, and with Shrek The Third and Hwang Jin Yi (황진이) taking
973 of them, there is little room for films, that distributors and
exhibitors feel won't make the money, but are they making any mistakes?
Let me know what you think...
Trailer of Hwang Jin Yi (황진이) - despite a relatively poor performance, it looks
very compelling. No subtltles though...
As for the remaining films - all very medicore performances really. Spider-man 3 looks
to stop making money at around $31.5 million mark - maybe a little
more. But as these big films take the driving seat; both domestic and
non-domestic, the bottom end of the box office is being forced to
generate very little money.
New trend to look at Box office revenue
On the subject of the box office, last Friday the one of the Chosun ilbo
writers wrote an interesting article about a new development in
determining a film success by the money it takes, as opposed to the
number of admissions. I find this quite interesting; especially so,
because here at koreanfilm.org.uk I have always strived to use both,
though there are some anomalies along the way, that I still can't work
out.
But whether you can or cannot find how much money a film
takes is not the argument – the fact is they now do. They have
discovered, although The Host (괴물) (2006)directed by Bong Joon-ho (봉준호) had more admissions, it made less money than The King and The Clown (왕의 남자) (2005) directed by Lee Joon-ik (이준익). Although 13.02 million people saw The Host (괴물), it had a total income of W79.1 billion ($78.5 million), whereas The King and The Clown (왕의 남자) made W80.5 billion ($80 million). These conversions are approx figures. Showbox, who distributed The Host (괴물), argue that while The King and The Clown (왕의 남자) is a rated 18, The Host
is a rated 12, and therefore more people were eligible for discounts.
But this subject of discounts and ‘free tickets’ is what making this
subject so controversial. I remember when Taeguki (태극기 휘날리며)
(2004) directed by Kang Je-gyu (강제규) came out; there was some criticism
because it was argued that they were issuing free tickets to break the
record. This has now dropped to fourth when looking at how much money
it takes as opposed to number of admissions - it was previously third. Simido (실미도) (2003) directed by Kang Woo-seok (강우석), however rises from fourth to third with a total revenue of W73.6 billion won. 
Lee Joon-ki (이준기) and Song Kang-ho (송강호) battle out for first place, but in terms of sales, The King and The Clown comes out on top
Friend (친구) directed by Kwak Gyeong-taek (곽경택), which was fifth in terms of audience numbers dropped down to seventh, whereas Shiri (쉬리)
directed by Kang Je-gyu (강제규), which was ninth, now doesn't exist in
the top ten. Other factors may come in to play. Like London, tickets
are more expensive in the capital Seoul, so it may mean ticket sales
outside are higher. Furthermore, ticket prices were increased to W7,000
($7) in 2000 from W6,000 hence the drop for Shiri (쉬리), which was obviously a key factor. 
Both Friend (친구) and Shiri (쉬리) see drops in the new sales table.
Although
this may seem unique to Korea, there are always problems as to
determining a level of success for a film. Only 3 weeks ago Hollywood
studios were arguing with each other as to how successful Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End was
- did it break records? Moreover analysts are often citing difficulties
in ascertaining how much money a film makes. Traditionally films were
released on a Friday, but it is common to have previews, or even to
release it mid-week - perhaps this is to illude people to think that it
has been highly successful, and therefore more people will want to see
it. I may be going off the track slightly here, but what is important
to note is measuring a film's success is no easy thing - be it by
looking at number of admissions, or by revenue, or even by looking at
both.
Source: Chosun ilbo
Korean Domestic Box Office: 15th - 17th June 2007 (93% of screens reporting)
Sources: KOFIC & hancinema Name of Film Week Number of Admissions 3-Day Gross (won) 3-Day Gross ($) Number of Screens Total Gross ($) Ocean's Thirteen(US) Warner Bros NEW 404,421
(483,365) 2,702,752,500 2,911,351 241 3,433,504 Shrek The Third (US) CJ Ent 2 403,963
(2,109,568) 2,558,466,500 2,755,929 439 14,397,670 Hwang Jin Yi (황진이) (S Korea) CJ Ent 2 156,869
(938,702) 1,027,232,500 1,106,514 359 6,600,316 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (US) BVI, Sony Pictures 4 139,584
(4,286,771) 889,589,000 958,247 292 29,335,700 Love And Other Disasters (UK-US-Fr) Prime Ent NEW 94,903
(110,150) 644,145,000 693,860 169 799,802 Secret Sunshine (밀양) (S Korea) Prime Ent 4 77,817
(1,424,496) 500,631,000 539,270 206 9,788,314 The Messengers (US) Prime Ent 2 41,866
(211,270) 264,889,500 285,534 133 1,460,091 Yellow Tears (黃色い淚) (Jap) Sponge Ent NEW 12,603
(17,161) 80,904,000 87,148 16 118,490 The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (時をかける少女) (Jap) CJ Ent NEW 10,829
(12,457) 67,808,000 73,041 6 83,092 The Wonder Years (열세살, 수아) (S Korea) Sponge Ent NEW 2,726
(2,881) 14,203,500 15,300 33 16,376
Ocean's Thirteen opened
very well indeed - it had a screen average of $12,080. I bet Warner
Bros are kicking themeselves for not opening it on more screens. Shrek The Third, which is being screened on almost double the number of screens, slips to 2nd, though only just.
Hwang Jin Yi (황진이)
is not doing so well, struggling to generate 1 million admissions after
3 weeks on a fairly high number of screens. There are only two other
Korean films on show; Secret Sunshine (밀양), which has probably broken the 1.5 million admissions barrier and The Wonder Years (열세살, 수아), which has done very poorly - especially when you compare it to The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (時をかける少女),
which was screened on 6 screens, yet generated 5 times the amount of
revenue. in fact it had a higher screen average ($12,174) than Ocean's Thirteen. Quite extraodinary! Yellow Tears (黃色い淚), which is another film from Korea's neighbour, has also performed quite well on 16 screens making over $100,000. 
Lee Se-yeong (이세영) (All For Love (내 생애 가장 아름다운 일주일 - 2005)) stars as a adolescent daugther who thinks her real mum is a pop star in The Wonder Years (열세살, 수아)
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End is almost certain to break the $30 million barrier - it properly has already.
Love And Other Disasters opens strongly just falling short of $800,000, whereas The Messengers,
also from Prime Entertainment has $1.5 million in its sights. Indeed,
Prime Entertainment have had a good week, despite being located
mid-lower table.
Korean Domestic Box Office: 22nd - 24th June 2007 (93% of screens reporting)
Sources: KOFIC & hancinema Name of Film Week Number of Admissons 3-Day Gross (won) 3-Day Gross ($) Number of Screens Total Gross ($) Black House (검은 집) (S Korea) CJ Ent NEW 377,195
(474,997) 2,562,907,500 2,707,058 325 3,348,880 Ocean's Thirteen (US) Warner Bros 2 289,046
(967,771) 1,986,988,000 2,098,746 231 6,810,835 Shrek The Third (US) CJ Ent 3 269,987
(2,566,179) 1,692,752,500 1,787,961 346 17,128,361 Captivity (US) ShowBox NEW 91,989
(126,286) 633,764,500 669,411 140 905,378 Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End (US) BVI, Sony Pictures 5 89,497
(4,461,625) 576,014,000 608,412 217 29,935,818 Hwang Jin Yi (황진이) (S Korea) CJ Ent 3 67,272
(1,126,164) 440,862,000 465,658 231 7,725,561 Love And Other Disasters (Fr, US, UK) Prime Ent 2 50,532
(208,801)
347,190,500 366,718 168 1,144,492 Hot Fuzz (UK, US, Fr) UIP NEW 41,807
(53,791) 285,135,000 301,172 105 382,112 Secret Sunshine (밀양) (S Korea) Prime Ent 5 39,546
(1,533,881) 257,840,000 272,342 160 10,315,312 Never Forever (두 번째 사랑) (S Korea) Prime Ent NEW 31,801
(43,493) 215,613,500 227,741 77 300,459
Good
news for the box office - we have a Korean No.1! With fierce Hollywood
competition, it has meant that no Korean film has made it to the top,
since the end of April when Paradise Murdered (극락도 살인사건) dominated the box office for three weeks. So, CJ Entertainment will certainly be content to see a domestic film (Black House (검은 집))generate almost 380,000 admissions on its first week. 
Black House (검은 집) directed by Sin Tae-ra (신태라) who made is directing debut last year with Brainwave (브레인웨이브)
will be happy with its performance last weekend. It stars Hwang
Jeong-min (황정민) who plays an insurance employee who belives that one of
his clients who has commit suicide, has in fact been murdered. Sounds
compelling.
Oceans's 13
falls to No.2, but it is still making serious money, despite being
screened on few screens for a Hollywood film on its second week on
release. Shrek The Third meanwhile is almost certain to break the 20 million barrier.
Captivity opens very well on 140 screens, whereas Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
is yet to break $30 million, but it is only a matter on time. If we
compare it to its predecessor, it has made almost $8 million more than
the last installment (Dead Man's Chest),
but at this stage it was being screened on 126 screens, however as we
can see, the latest installment is being shown on 217 screens.
Hwang Jin Yi (황진이)
has been a very big disappointment generating $7,725,561 million afteer
3 weeks. At this stage, I am imagine they would be hoping for at least
1.5 million admissions - if not more - but there is still more gas in
the tank.
Hot Fuss opened well on 105 screens, which pleases Brit's like me, and Secret Sunshine (밀양)
has done very well making just over 1.5 million admissions, but I would
really like it to break 2 million admissions - this is
however,unlikely.
The final Korean (well it not 100 % Korean - see below) film is Never Forever (두 번째 사랑) in the box office, which opens well on 77 screen with a screen average of $2,958. 
Yep,
thats right we have a Korean film, that is not 'totally' Korean. It
stars Vera Farmiga (베라 파미가), David McInnis (데이비드 맥기니스) (both above) and
Ha Jeong-woo (하정우) (Breath숨), directed by Gina Kim (김진아) and co-produced by
Lee Chang-dong (이창동). This is the first Korean-American film. It seems
to be a really hit amongst women - 85 % of pre-bookings online were
women. It follows Sophie and a successful America Korean (both above),
who can't conceive a child, but then an immigrant from Korea (Ji-hah (Ha
Jeong-woo)) who looks like her husband arrives in the U.S, and she then
sleeps with him to get pregnant and thus, to 'keep her family'.
Korean Domestic Box Office: June 29th -July 3rd June 2007 (93% of screens reporting)
Sources: KOFIC & hancinema Name of Film Week Number of Admissions 3-Day Gross (won) 3-Day Gross ($) Number of Screens Total Gross ($) Transformers (US) CJ Ent NEW 1,580,128
(1,895,016) 10,365,500,500 10,948,509 851 13,053,282 Black House (검은 집) (S Korea) CJ Ent 2 203,114
(909,172) 1,370,763,500 1,447,862 267 6,379,441 Ocean's Thirteen (US) Warner Bros 3 103,564
(1,200,253) 687,794,000 762,479 193 8,412,796 Shrek The Third (US) CJ Ent 4 86,753
(2,709,176) 543,223,500 573,777 232 18,074,805 Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End (US) BVI, Sony Pictures 6 24,548
(4,520,550) 158,157,500 167,053 135 30,330,907 Captivity (US) ShowBox 2 20,332
(189,712) 135,817,000 143,456 130 1,344,949 Hwang Jin Yi (황진이) (S Korea) CJ Ent 4 13,131
(1,172,987) 83,326,500 88,013 116 8,029,317 Never Forever (두 번째 사랑) (S Korea) Prime Ent 2 12,465
(11,759) 78,129,000 82,523 71 561,866 Secret Sunshine (밀양) (S Korea) Prime Ent 6
11,759
(1,574,785 77,757,000 82,130 79 10,577,276 See No Evil (US) Microvision NEW 10,345
(12,508) 69,945,000 73,879 67 88,534
Korea
have yet another blockbuster to hit the No.1 spot, and a very
impressive performance indeed. In fact, if I am not mistaken, Transformers is the most successful opening of the year beating Spiderman 3 by just under 14,000 admissions, though Transformers was
screened on 73 more screens. Nevertheless, CJ Entertainment will
certainly be content with just over $13 million in their bank account
on its first weekend. If critics hailed last years Hollywood
blockbusters as a Tsumani, I would like to know what they call this
years!
Still, Black House (검은 집)
is still doing quite nicely generating not far off a million admissions
following its second weekend in the box office, but no doubt Transformers
has somewhat hindered its impact. Nevertheless, it shows that domestic
films fighting back. Last week it was the 4th most successful
international film when it opened - the first non-Hollywood film.
As you can see the next 4 films are yet more Hollywood films - 3 of which are box office dynamite, whereas the latter (Captivity) is probably more of a box office bomb according to critics, but it hasn't done too badly.
In contrast, the next 3 films are Korean films. Hwang Jin Yi (황진이), although it has made over $7 million, it has been a disappoinment - I was expecting it to easily make double that. Never Forever (두 번째 사랑), as we saw last week is the first Korean-American release ahead of D-War, which is released in August, has had over a 50% drop since last week, while Secret Sunshine (밀양) has been relatively successful in attracting over 1.5 million people.