Korean Domestic Box Office: August 31st -2nd September 2007.  2007 (95% of screens reporting)

Name of Film	Week	Number of Admissions	3-Day Gross (Won)	3-Day Gross ($)	Number of Screens	Total Gross ($)
Disturbia (US) CJ Ent	NEW	223,927 (258,215)	1,481,990,200	1,579,526	205	1,813,111
The Worst Man in my Life (내 생애 최악의 남자) (S Korea) CJ Ent	NEW	215,829 (250,888)	1,431,189,000	1,525,381	302	176,586
May 18 (화려한 휴가) (S Korea) CJ Ent	6	201,747 (6,568,901)	1,291,726,000	1,376,740	283	44,859,331
No Reservations (US) Warner Bros	NEW	136,871 (170,230)	931,462,700	992,766	165	1,191,152
D-War  (디 워) (S Korea) ShowBox	5	119,681 (7,730,606)	764,751,100	815,082	266	51,624,869
Stardust (UK, US) CJ Ent	3	89,555 (772,944)	593,206,300	632,248	142	5,318,105
Changing Partners (지금 사랑하는 사람과 살고 있습니까?) (S Korea) Cinema Service	3	84,644 (971,052)	575,929,600	613,834	200	6,910,898
Underground Rendezvous (만남의 광장) (S Korea) ShowBox	3	75,963 (1,169,515)	490,044,600	522,296	200	8,000,831
Flyboys (Fr, US) Microvision	NEW	70,547 (81,452)	464,660,300	495,241	157	567,302
Swindler In My Mom's House  (사랑방 선수와 어머니) (S Korea) Lotte Ent	2	69,870 (475,767)	450,630,400	480,288	233	3,253,995

Apologies for the lack of box office charts recently - I have been away from my desk. Well, to say the least, it has been a very interesting and momentous few weeks. Only a few weeks ago, I like so many others were very concerned with the lack of Korean films in the charts and indeeed the level of success Hollywood films were getting - Transformers to name just one.

But two things have happened since, which has changed the scenery from gloomy pessimism to ecstatic optimism. And need I say what?  May 18 (화려한 휴가) opened very well at the end of July with over 1 million admissions and two weeks ago it was No.1 again over taking D-War  (디 워). It has made wopping $45 million to date, which has certainly made me hit the roof and I don't get a cut! And then there is of course, D-War, which may or may not become the most successful Korean film in history. It seems to have settled down now, which would suggest it won't break the ultimate record, but on its opening weekend it beat The Host (괴물) hands down with 1,931,943 admissions in 3 days on 700 screens. Very impressive indeed.


May 18 (화려한 휴가) directed by Kim Ji-hoon (김지훈) and starring Ahn Seong-gi (안성기), Kim Sang-kyeong (김상경),  Lee Yo-won (이요원),  Lee Yo-won (이요원) and many others depicts the tragic events Gwangju Democratization Movement.


 To be honest I am a little confused what I think about the success of D-War - I am content that it has done very well, but I also have concerns that it is not really a Korean film; it is mostly in English with an American cast. But nevertheless, the crew were Korean and it has certainly brought a sense of relive to a industry that was in a bit of dispair. Both May 18 (화려한 휴가) and  D-War  (디 워) have generated almost $100 million between them, which is extraordinary.


D-War  (디 워) written and directed by Shim Hyung-rae (심형래) starring Jason Behr (제이슨 버), Amanda Brooks (아만다 브룩스) & Robert Forster (로버트 포스터). Quite a contrast from May 18 (화려한 휴가).


I don't know if you remembered what happened last year, but I sense a bit of déjà vu. It may be coincidental, but last year, like this year the Hollywood studios were very 'Hollywood' and squeezed the local product like getting the juice out of an orange. And then came Hanbando (한반도), which to be fair wasn't a real success, but rather a warm-up of what was to come, which came in the form of The Host (괴물) Then the Korean studios starting releasing Korean films like there was no tomorrow as if they were waiting for the right time - it was great - and as I review the box office over the past few weeks, I see the same thing happening. First we get May 18 (화려한 휴가), then as I have said D-War  (디 워) and then, a flood of Korean films hitting the box office like a hurd of elephants. Two weeks ago there were 8 Korean films in the top 10 forcing The Simpsons Movie to 7th place on its opening weekend! I for one was not expecting that. Compare this to the weekend of July 13th -15th where there were 2 Korean films in the top 10. This is pure speculation, but it certainly looks like the Korean studios waited again. So how effective has it been?

Well, like last year you have some winners, some partial winners and some losers. We all know who the winners are, so lets move on. Both Underground Rendezvous (만남의 광장) and
Changing Partners (지금 사랑하는 사람과 살고 있습니까?) have not performed amazingly well, but they haven't bombed either, which is encouraging given the competition. If you look at last week, whilst there is the obvious variation between the number of screens for each film, it is far less than usual. For example when the Hollywood films were in full swing, there were huge differences between one film and another, now there seems to be a remarkable equal share. This would lead me to assume therefore that given the amount of Korean films in the box office, this will be an effort help every film, which has aided the moderate succes of Underground Rendezvous (만남의 광장) and Changing Partners (지금 사랑하는 사람과 살고 있습니까?). But if you look a couple of weeks ago (below), they were both released on large numbers of screens, so in that respect they have been a little disappointing.


Underground Rendezvous (만남의 광장)          Changing Partners   (지금 사랑하는 사람과 살    directed by Kim Jong-jin (김종진)               있습니까?) directed by Jeong Yoon-soo (정윤수)                                              
     
But there have been losers and if you look at Swindler In My Mom's House  (사랑방 선수와 어머니), which is the remake of the Shin Sang-ok classic, it has flopped - the reviews haven't helped either. But when you take a masterpeice and remake it, this is what happens. Someone Behind you (두 사람이다) opened two weeks ago and has subsequently disappeared, Femme Fatale (죽어도 해피 엔딩) did the same.  Return (리턴)  did a little better and Epitaph (기담) did very poorly. And both Attack on the Attack on the Pin-Up Boys (꽃미남 연쇄 테러사건) and Muoi : The Legend of a Portrait (므이) were short-lived, but they were released on fewer screens.  All in all,  it is encouraging to see a fair share of screens being allocated and when you have so many Korean films in the charts, you will inevitably have losers.


Return (리턴) written and directed by              Epitaph (기담) directed by Jeong Beom-sik
Lee Kyoo-man (이규만)                                  (정범식) & Jeong Sik (정식)


As for Hollywood films, most have failed to live up to anything since Transformers, which incidentally exited the charts on its 7th week with $50.5 million in the bank for CJ and its partners. Zodiac didn't really get anywhere as did Mr. Bean's Holiday. One of the biggest disappointments for non-Korean studios is Ratatouille, which has been recieving very strong reviews. Indeed The Simpsons Movie, which has had so much hype all over the world, quite literally bombed - I predicted it would be a hit. How wrong was I? And then there is Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer. I would like to add here, that there are some discrepancies between my box office sources, so in the week when Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer was released, the chart says it came 7th, but another chart from hancinema.net says it was 3rd. To be honest, the latter is probably right, but since they don't provide financial statisics on hancinema.net, I was forced to leave it as it is. Nevertheless after two weeks, not even making 570,000 admissions for a Hollywood blockbuster will be disappointing for 20th Century Fox. Likewise Surf's Up didn't live up to much. But Stardust has been very consistent dropping only 1 place in 3 weeks making almost 90,000 admissions on 142 screens. And finally, Disturbia has opened promisingly attracting almost a quarter of a million people on its first weekend.

To conclude therefore - with lots of information flying around the place, it always good to summarise - it has certainly been a vibrant few weeks for the Korean film industry with a staggering 13 Korean releases in 6 weeks. Some have been more successful than others; whereas some like May 18 (화려한 휴가) will be remebered for sometime, people probably have already forgotton about Femme Fatale (죽어도 해피 엔딩)  but it does go to show that it is not over until the fat lady sings and I don't think the Hollywood fat lady will be singing for sometime.

Korean Domestic Box Office: August 24th -26th  2007 (95% of screens reporting)

Name of Film	Week	Number of Admissions	3-Day Gross (WON)	3-Day Gross ($)	Number of Screens	Total Gross ($)
May 18 (화려한 휴가) (S Korea) CJ Ent	5	328,974 (6,232,199)	3,569,020,200	3,802,291	543	42,568,333
D-War  (디 워) (S Korea) ShowBox	4	321,436 (7,546,940)	3,482,415,600	3,710,026	584	50,353,541
Underground Rendezvous (만남의 광장)  (S Korea) ShowBox	2	233,989 (320,233)	2,327,440,700	2,479,562	466	6,973,204
Changing Partners (지금 사랑하는 사람과 살고 있습니까?) (S Korea) Cinema Service	2	200,743 (1,019,040)	2,112,655,500	2,250,738	492	5,615,483
Swindler In My Mom's House (사랑방 선수와 어머니) (S Korea) Lotte Ent	NEW	162,977 (786,324)	2,027,569,400	2,160,091	371	2,194,627
Stardust (UK, US) CJ Ent	2	160,944 (610,883)	1,735,133,500	1,848,542	353	4,194,531
Someone Behind you (두 사람이다)  (S Korea) ChungEoRahm, M&FC	NEW	109,929 (139,266)	1,032,206,900	1,099,672	250	1,118,367
The Simpsons Movie (US) 20th Fox	NEW	106,226 (156,003)	861,310,700	917,606	215	917,606
Femme Fatale (죽어도 해피 엔딩) (S Korea)  Prime Ent	NEW	87,480 (114,375)	740,535,400	788,937	239	788,937
Return (리턴) (S Korea) CJ Ent	3	22,695 (614,932)	419,443,500	446,858	255	4,344,674

                                                                                        Sources: KOFIC & hancinema


Korean Domestic Box Office: August 17th-19th  2007 (94% of screens reporting)

Name of Film	Week	Number of Admissions	3-Day Gross (WON)	3-Day Gross ($)	Number of Screens	Total Gross ($)
D-War (디 워) (S Korea) ShowBox	3	663,024 (7,066,361)	4,162,881,300	4,379,906	492	46,233,751
May 18 (화려한 휴가) (S Korea) CJ Ent	4	477,373 (5,723,977)	3,074,987,200	3,235,296	446	38,422,107
Underground Rendezvous (만남의 광장) (S Korea) ShowBox	NEW	357,006 (696,903)	2,319,276,500	3,440,188	326	4,538,511
Changing Partners (지금 사랑하는 사람과 살고 있습니까?) (S Korea) Cinema Service	NEW	260,268 (503,166)	1,768,972,500	1,861,195	356	3,412,823
Stardust (US, UK) CJ Ent	NEW	205,772 (368,078)	1,337,163,200	1,406,874	222	2,385,070
Return (리턴) (S Korea) CJ Ent	2	83,806 (558,303)	560,810,400	590,047	250	3,869,997
Zodiac (US) Warner Bros	NEW	64,194 (125,370)	426,163,900	448,381	121	826,274
Mr Bean's Holiday (UK, US, Fr) Universal Pictures International	NEW	57,040 (102,977)	359,868,400	378,629	170	664,095
Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer (US) 20th Fox	2	51,138 (567,755)	324,001,300	340,893	273	3,772,139
Surf's Up (US) BVI, Sony Pictures.	2	48,355 (253,069)	282,686,500	297,424	170	1,558,826

                                                                                  Sources: KOFIC & hancinema





Korean Domestic Box Office: August 10th-12th  2007 (94% of screens reporting)

Name of Film	Week	Number of Admissions	3-Day Gross (WON)	3-Day Gross ($)	Number of Screens	Total Gross ($)
D-War (S Korea) ShowBox	2	1,427,771 (5,345,288)	9,020,643,400	9,680,360	631	35,935,731
May 18 (S Korea) CJ Ent	3	742,517 (4,593,672)	4,781,516,100	5,131,208	523	31,662,286
Return (리턴) (S Korea) CJ Ent	NEW	295,294 (404,573)	1,609,640,440	1,727,360	294	2,390,567
Surf's Up (US) BVI, Sony Pictures	NEW	238,819 (334,531)	681,813,500	731,677	221	843,419
Epitaph (기담 (奇談)) (S Korea) Studio 2.0	2	112,755 (130,578)	647,166,300	694,496	228	307,052
Ratatouille (US) Sony Pictures, Walt Disney	3	100,746 (516,563)	606,328,800	650,672	154	5,928,735
Die Hard 4.0 (Live Free or Die Hard) (US) 20th Fox	4	96,530 (3,145,747)	525,993,600	564,462	207	21,825,177
Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer (US) 20th Fox	NEW	81,129 (404,573)	185,587,700	199,160	402	2,761,691
1408 (US) Lotte Ent	2	23,910 (243,919)	152,652,700	163,817	90	1,669,443
Transformers (US) CJ Ent	7	23,910 (7,347,216)	151,306,600	162,372	69	50,542,585

                                                                                  Sources: KOFIC & hancinema


Korean Domestic Box Office: August 3rd -5th  2007 (94% of screens reporting)

Name of Film	Week	Number of Admissions	3-Day Gross (WON)	3-Day Gross ($)	Number of Screens	Total Gross ($)
D-War  (디 워)(S Korea) ShowBox	NEW	1,931,943 (2,770,557)	12,181,583,300	13,191,384	700	18,801,368
May 18 (화려한 휴가)  (S Korea) CJ Ent	2	932,551 (3,219,118)	6,040,397,200	6,541,120	549	22,477,911
Die Hard 4.0 (Live Free or Die Hard) (US) 20th Fox	3	259,625 (2,956,000)	1,685,927,100	1,825,683	307	20,721,321
Epitaph (기담 (奇談)) (S Korea) Studio 2.0	NEW	188,553 (703,101)	1,212,039,100	1,312,512	251	2,048,861
Ratatouille (US) Sony Pictures, Walt Disney	2	185,414 (296,580)	1,169,149,700	1,266,067	258	4,694,680
Transformers (US) CJ Ent	6	115,258 (7,276,977)	728,452,400	788,838	222	50,529,227
1408 (US) Lotte Ent	NEW	108,793 (170,965)	715,416,300	774,721	182	1,188,703
Harry Potter And The Order Of The Pheonix (US, UK) Warner Bros	4	70,703 (3,652,325)	442,119,200	478,769	208	24,486,109
Evan Almighty (US) Universal Pictures International	2	26,269 (228,447)	161,237,100	174,603	125	1,530,815
The Hitcher (US) Prime Ent	NEW	10,873 (18,268)	73,009,000	79,061	116	131,323

                                                                                  Sources: KOFIC & hancinema

 
Korean Domestic Box Office: July 27th -29th 2007 (94% of screens reporting)

Name of Film	Week	Number of Admissions	3-Day Grosss (Won)	3-Day Gross ($)	Number of Screens	Total Gross ($)
May 18 (화려한 휴가) (S Korea) CJ Ent	NEW	1,053,759 (1,384,159)	6,883,668,500	7,468,043	549	9,752,406
Die Hard 4.0 (Live Free or Die Hard)	2	449,789 (2,401,965)	2,945,844,600	3,195,926	365	16,907,603
Ratatouille (US) Sony Pictures, Walt Disney	NEW	229,205 (294,708)	1,440,406,400	1,562,687	262	1,999,745
Transformers (US) CJ Ent	5	225,584 (7,009,041)	1,431,095,300	1,552,585	274	48,813,686
Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix (US, UK) Warner Bros	3	195,646 (3,461,066)	1,222,461,000	1,326,239	266	23,260,956
Evan Almighty (US) Universal Pictures International.	NEW	100,776 (136,052)	646,073,500	700,921	198	920,206
Muoi : The Legend of a Portrait (므이) (S Korea) CJ Ent, Cinema Service	NEW	84,138 (118,010)	547,750,000	594,250	164	826,699
Alone (Faet) (Thai) Lotte Ent	2	51,615 (462,146)	330,739,300	358,817	129	3,182,191
Attack on the Pin-Up Boys (꽃미남 연쇄 테러사건) (S Korea) ChungEoRahm, M & FC co	NEW	47,834 (63,514)	291,102,500	315,815	108	415,851
Power Rangers: Magic Force & Treasure Force (Jap) Daewon Media	2	14,191 (89,706)	87,037,000	94,426	35	590,187

                                                                                    Sources: KOFIC & hancinema


Korean Domestic Box Office: July 20th -22nd 2007 (94% of screens reporting)
      

Name of Film	Week	Number of Admissions	3-Day Gross (won)	3-Day Gross ($)	Number of Screens	Total Gross ($)
Die Hard 4.0 (lLive Free of Die Hard) U.S 20th Fox	NEW	818,775 (1,593,909)	5,367,206,000	5.865,799	531	11,313,247
Harry Potter And The Order Of The Pheonix (UK, US) Warner Bros	2	491,520 (3,076,845)	3,087,600,700	3,374,427	555	20,857,285
Transformers (US) CJ Ent	4	446,528 (6,575,993)	2,858,729,600	3,124,295	442	46,208,167
Alone (Faet) (Thai) Lotte Ent	NEW	170,557 (329,648)	1,094,672,000	1,196,363	143	2,287,659
The Cut (해부학교실) (S Korea) ChungEoRahm, M&FC Co	2	81,037 (542,403)	515,240,000	563,104	208	3,738,028
Power Rangers: Magic Force & Treasure Force (Jap) Daewon Media	NEW	31,105 (65,949)	191,461,000	209,247	44	439,293
Black House (검은 집)  (S Korea) CJ Ent	4	7,540 (1,316,173)	49,922,000	54,560	42	9,552,323
The Descent (UK) Lotte Ent	3	4,473 (229,097)	28,943,500	31,632	34	1,660,026
Lady Chatterley (Bel, Fr, UK) JinJin Pictures	3	2,055 (9,333)	14,567,000	15,920	5	70,014
Shrek The Third (US) CJ Ent	7	1,636 (2,820,198)	9,296,000	10,160	15	19,441,886

                                                                                        Sources: KOFIC & hancinema

Transformers has now become the highest grossing film of 2007 in Korea with 6.575 million admissions beating A 200-Pound Beauty (6.3 million admissions). But May 18 was released last Wednesday, and hopefully that was bring some optimism to the Korean film industry.

Like I said last week, Die Hard 4.0 (why do they have different names for different territories?), has broken a record for 20th Century Fox - but I suspect this may be short-lived with the release of The Simpsons Movie in August.

 Harry Potter And The Order Of The Pheonix is not disappoiting Warner Bros with almost $30 million in the bank after two weeks - very impressive. If you look at the top 3 films, they have generated a wopping 78 million collectively! A little bit worrying really...

Alone from Thailand opens well given the compettion, wheras Cut (해부학교실) is turning out to be a flop, and whilst Black House (검은 집)  has done much better, had the compettion been lighter, it probably would had a better result.

Power Rangers: Magic Force & Treasure Force has opened very well on 44 screens, The Descent is still plodding along as is Lady Chatterley and Shrek The Third is about to conclude its presence in the top 10 after 7 weeks, just missing the $20 million mark.



Korean Domestic Box Office: July 13th -July 15th  June 2007 (93% of screens reporting)
                                 

Name of Film	Week	Number of Admissions	3-Day Gross (won)	3-Day Gross ($)	Number of Screens	Total Gross ($)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix (US, UK) Warner Bros	NEW	1,459,395 (1,850,891)	9,005,208,000	9,807,458	758	12,494,450
Transformers: The Movie (US) CJ Ent	3	836,035 (5,629,997)	5,289,362,400	5,760,578	540	39,518,108
The Cut  (해부학교실) (S Korea) ChungEoRahm, M &FC Co (S Korea)	NEW	264,765 (336.267)	1,668,118,000	1,816,726	231	2,310,729
Black House  (해부학교실) (S Korea) CJ Ent	3	52,642 (1,293,076)	354,330,000	385,896	184	9,354,736
The Descent (UK) Lotte Ent	2	38,301 (215,388)	251,865,000	274,303	160	1,557,890
Taxi 4 (Fr) Studio 2.0	2	16,237 (144,915)	103,685,500	112,923	99	1,022,210
Shrek The Third (US) CJ Ent	6	12,231 (2,815,014)	70,087,500	76,331	62	19,342,121
Ocean's Thirteen (US) Warner Bros	5	10,259 (1,374,236)	62,672,500	68,256	49	9,859,378
Die Hard 4.0(Live Free Or Die Hard) (U.S) 20th Fox	PREVIEW	3,738 (8,948)	26,254,000	28,593	16	63,266
Lady Chatterley (Bel, Fr, UK) JinJin Pictures	2	3,324 (4,416)	23,159,500	25,223	5	32,894

                                                                                       Sources: KOFIC & hancinema

Apologies for not bringing you the box office sooner - I was rather confused as to what was going on in the last two places in the box office. Everywhere was saying different things and therefore, it was difficult to actually ascertain which one was right. I am still not sure, but I did work out that Die Hard 4.0 was No.1 last weekend, which means when it was released during the weekend of July 13th-15th (above), it must of been previews. It just goes to show unrealiable box office stats are.

It wasn't a surprise to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix  hit No.1. It hasn't done badly, though it slips to last place when compared to the other 3 high profile releases on their 3-day gross (Spiderman, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End and indeed Transformers). When I say high profile releases I mean films that have opened on over 600 screens. But nevertheless, approaching 1.5 million admisssions is hardly poor.

Transformers - I don't think any film will match its success this year. The only three films I can see, that may challenge it is May 18 (it follows the events of the Kwangju massacre of May 18), D-War (this is a film that has been in the making as long as I can remember) and Simpsons the  Movie. May 18 will be released by CJ Entertainment, which will give it a real push.  It has a huge cast - Kim Sang-kyung (Memories of Murder), Ahn Sung-ki (need I say anymore?), Lee jun-ki (The King and The Clown), Lee Yo-won (Take Care of My Cat), Na Moon-hee (You are My Sunshine) and Song Jae-ho (Memories of Murder). It is to be directed by Kim Ji-hoon (Mokpo). I am not sure about D-War - I think it will either be a phenominal success or a disaster, and as for The Simpsons The Movie, well seeing the reviews are amazing and the fact that it has been 18 years in the making, it could cause a real stir. But Korea is a little different to other territories, so we will see, but it has the potential to do very well.

As for the other films. The Cut (해부학교실) has opened OK -  I can't really think of a better word at the minute. I can't see it doing wonderfully well, but this is horror season, so it may go on to make some dosh. Meanwhile Black house (해부학교실) is slowing down a bit, but with over 1.25 million admissions, it hasn't done too badly.


The Cut  (해부학교실) directed by  Son Tae-woong (손태웅) and starring  Han Ji-min (한지민), Oh Tae-kyeong (오태경), On Joo-wan (온주완), Jo Min-ki (조민기) &  Jin Yoo-yeong (진유영)

The Descent and Taxi 4 are feeling the effects of strong competition and Shrek The Third and Oceans Thirteen are still making some money, even if it is not a great deal. The former has done very well indeed, and so has the latter - it has been on a more selective release compared to the other Hollywood releases this summer.

As for Die Hard 4, it may seem not to have done that well in the previews, but the fact that it has broken a record for 20th Century Fox in Korea would suggest it has done well. We will see later on in the week when I publish last weekend's stats.



Korean Domestic Box Office: July 6th -July 8th  June 2007 (93% of screens reporting)

Name of Film	Week	Number of Admissions	3-Day Gross (won)	3-Day Gross ($)	Number of Screens	Total Gross
Transformers (US) CJ Ent	2	1,539,798 (4,258,304)	10,894,872,538	11,829,395	617	31,016,109
Black House  (검은 집) (S Korea)  CJ Ent	2	144,544 (1,175,052)	1,128,615,600	1,225,424	230	8,637,537
The Descent (UK) Lotte Ent	NEW	107,307 (127,955)	835,397,000	907,054	169	1,051,070
Taxi 4 (Fr) Studio 2.0	NEW	88,135 (102,398)	641,990,000	697,058	140	794,495
Ocean's Thirteen (US) Warner Bros	4	74,101 (1,336,073)	535,257,300	581,170	170	9,649,195
Shrek The Third (US) CJ Ent	5	60,142 (2,795,032)	390,182,500	423,651	164	19,176,629
Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End (US) BVI, Sony Pictures	7	13,618 (4,548,387)	97,930,500	106,331	91	31,381,548
Secret Sunshine (밀양) (S Korea) Prime Ent	7	7,284 (1,594,460)	58,159,500	63,148	54	11,017,403
Love And Other Disasters (Fr, US, UK) Prime Ent	4	5,414 (262,137)	45,085,000	48,952	29	1,904,788
Hwang Jin-Yi (황진이) (S Korea) CJ Ent	5	4,814 (1,188,023)	37,382,500	40,589	62	8,362,351

                                                                                        Sources: KOFIC & hancinema

Well, the Transformers has gone off the rails! It has made almost as much as what the Pirates of The Caribbean: At World's End has done in 7 weeks, yet the Transformers has been on release for not even 2 weeks. It is staggering - my eyes almost popped out my head when I saw the figures. It had a wopping screen average of just over $19,000, which is almost three times the screen average of Black house (검은 집). Even more interesting is the fact that it has lost just over 40,000 admissions on last weekends takings on 234 fewer screens. This may seem alot, but when you are talking about over 1.5 million admissions, this is a very small amount. Evidently the power of the Korean internet has dragged in the droves - word of mouth in Korea is stronger than a multi-million marketing campaign.

This may increase anxiety amongst Korean industry personnel, not least when CJ CGV (Korea's largest exhibitor) announced that in the first half of 2007 the market share for Korean films was 47.3% - the lowest since 2001. Furthermore, compared to last years 59.7% (same period), it is rather concerning. Obviously these figures don't include the last two weeks, which will only hinder Korea's domestic power. Currently the biggest hit in 2007 is A 200-Pound Beauty (미녀는 괴로워) with 6,265,687 admissions followed by Spiderman 3 with 4,940,000. Unless something happens, I expect this to be overtaken by the Transformers. But we shouldn't be surprised to see the domestic power losing some of its dominance - Korean films simply can't continue to witness the boom they have experienced over the last decade. However, as I keep pointiing out, this will force the industry to make decisive changes, which will launch yet another exciting chapter in the Korean film industry. We may see less films, but this is not a bad thing; the industry needs more of the quality touch we all now it has.

Moving on... Black house (검은 집) is tailing off a bit, but this is largely because of "you know what". It may see 2 million admissions, but it will be very tough. UK (yeah!) horror hit The Descent has not done too badly managing to get the second highest screen average of $5,367. I do wonder if this film will really succeed - it would be ironic if it did. British people tend (not all) to associate alot of Korean cinema with dark horrors, and it would certainly be a little interesting to see a British horror to succeed in a country that does them so well.

Like The Descent, Taxi 4 is making some money, as is Ocean's 13 which is not far off $10 millio. Shrek The Third has just broken the 19 million barrier, and no doubt CJ will be thrilled if it breaks the 20 million barrier.  The Pirates machine is about to come to a stop I think - probably just short of $31.5 million.

Secret Sunshine (밀양) is still attracting viewers, which is great, whereas Hwang Jin-Yi (황진이) is really struggeling despite a real push from CJ Entertainment.