Korean Box Office
Every week I gather the box office stats, which include the top ten and essentially how much money each film makes. I have the box office charts for every week from May of last year, so please have a look at your convenience. As you can see each week where possible I write a little commentary, which I trust helps you follow with what's going on. And to avoid any confusion, when I say Korean, I am referring to the South Korean box office'.
Some of you are aware, that the Korean box office is usually interpreted through the number of admissions, but in the West, it is the norm to study a box office in terms of how much money it makes (in U.S dollars), and therefore I have included both. The commentaries will reflect this.
Unfortunately, due to a technical error the first half of 2007 is missing. I will have it back up in the next few days or so, but the commentary will be missing.
Please note: I have made some abbreviations for some of the distributors as they are too long to fit in the table. They are as follows:
Sony Pictures = Sony Pictures International Releasing
CJ Ent = C.J Entertainment
Lotte Ent = Lotte Entertainment
Prime Ent = Prime Entertainment
Korean Domestic Box office July 18-20 2008 (97% screens reporting)
| Name of Film | Week | Number of Admissions | 3-Day Gross (Won) | 3-Day Gross ($) | Screens | Total Gross |
| The Good, The Bad and The Weird (좋은 놈, 나쁜 놈, 이상한 놈) CJ Ent | NEW | 1,673,970 (2,155,050) | 11,043,618,500 | 10,791,868 | 954 | 13,768,830 |
| Red Cliff (China) Showbox/Mediaplex | 2 | 239,858 (1,258,827) | 1,566,734,500 | 1,531,019 | 389 | 7,953,575 |
| Num's Island (2007) US) Lotte Ent | NEW | 216,521 (243,127) | 1,372,373,500 | 1,341,089 | 331 | 1,498,922 |
| Hancock (US) Sony Pictures | 3 | 146,869 (2,623,449) | 954,535,000 | 932,775 | 403 | 16,732,151 |
| Public Enemy Returns (S Korea) CJ Ent | 5 | 104,926 (4,164,675) | 699,737,500 | 683,786 | 305 | 26,899,130 |
| Wanted (US) Universal Pictures | 4 | 96,272 (2,779,946) | 668,925,000 | 653,676 | 340 | 18,175,924 |
| Space Chimps (US) Sungwon Icom Corp | NEW | 77,198 (84,630) | 472,492,000 | 461,721 | 227 | 500,493 |
| Doraemon the Movie: Nobita's New Great Adventure Into the Underworld - The Seven Magic Users (Jap) Daewon Media | NEW | 64,404 (70,050) | 398,303,500 | 389,224 | 100 | 422,705 |
| King Fu Panda (US) CJ Ent | 7 | 42,174 (4,606,083) | 272,434,500 | 226,224 | 174 | 28,889,020 |
| Crossing (S Korea) Big House Vantage Holdings. | 5 | 26,380 (866,231) | 168,275,500 | 164,439 | 144 | 5,305,681 |
It goes without saying that the star of the weekend was the one and only The Good, The Bad and The Weird (좋은 놈, 나쁜 놈, 이상한 놈), which generated a nice 1.6 million admissions over the weekend with a total of over 2 million admissions ($13.7m) in total. Not bad.. No doubt CJ Entertainment will be happy with its performance, though if it is to break records it has got a long way to go. This will essentially depend on word-of-mouth via the Internet.
The Good, The Bad and The Weird (좋은 놈, 나쁜 놈, 이상한 놈) directed by Kim Ji-woon (김지운) and starring Song Kang-ho (송강호), Lee Byeong-Heon (이병헌) & Jeong Woo-seong (정우성)
With "you know what" hammering the box office, no other film really stands a chance. But Red Cliff is doing quite well with a total of 1.2 million admissions (just short of $8m). Num's Island has opened with an average opening and Hancock has done very nicely with 2.6 million admissions ($16.7m) and Public Enemy Returns (강철중: 공공의 적 1-1) is still doing reasonably well and can't moan with over 4 million admissions (just short of $26.9m). Wanted has also performed very well indeed with not far off 3 million admissions.
Inevitably, however, there will be films that flop and Space Champs is set to be one of them and regrettably Crossing (크로싱), which I still cannot understand why it hasn't performed particuarly well even though it has met fierce competition. It hasn't even made 1 million admissions...
King Fu Panda, although on its way out, it has had a very nice run indeed with 4.6 million admissions, which equates to almost $30 milion.
Korean Domestic Box office July 11-13 2008 (97% screens reporting)
| Name of Film | Week | Number of Admissions | 3-Day Gross (won) | 3-Day Gross ($) | Screens | Total Gross |
| Red Cliff (China) Showbox/Mediaplex | NEW | 657,297 (787,486) | 4,301,037,500 | 4,283,353 | 540 | 5,078,890 |
| Hancock (US) Sony Pictures | 2 | 600,725 (2,310,414) | 3,906,082,500 | 3,890,022 | 578 | 15,040,298 |
| Wanted (US0) UPI | 2 | 311,168 (2,546,230) | 2,136,839,500 | 2,128,053 | 395 | 16,968,075 |
| Public Enemy Returns (강철중: 공공의 적 1-1) (S Korea) CJ Ent | 4 | 303,939 (3,927,617) | 1,996,417,000 | 1,988,208 | 368 | 25,872,798 |
| King Fu Panda (US) CJ Ent | 6 | 190,832 (4,537,407) | 1,171,027,000 | 1,166,212 | 371 | 29,002,522 |
| Crossing (크로싱) (S Korea) Big House Vantage Holdings | 4 | 123,220 (788,352) | 766,119,000 | 762,969 | 297 | 4,931,009 |
| The Strangers (US) Chungeorahm Films | 2 | 49,769 (222,832) | 311,710,500 | 310,429 | 178 | 1,389,403 |
| [Rec] (Sp) Universal Pictures Int | NEW | 38,377 (47,534) | 264,049,000 | 262,963 | 117 | 322,433 |
| Santa Maria (잘못된 만남) (S Korea) Toy Ent | NEW | 29,252 (34,565) | 190,874,000 | 190,089 | 182 | 223,183 |
| Urmel Aus Dem Eis (Ger) Mars Films | 2 | 7,901 (28,399) | 45,808,500 | 45,620 | 61 | 161,651 |
Another poor week for Korean cinema with Hollywood and International films making a lasting impression. Red Cliff has opened well with almost 800,000 admissions and Hancock, Wanted and King Fu Panda all have very handsome figures; 2.3m admissions ($15m), 2.5m admissions ($17m) and 4.5m admissions ($29m) respectively. Public Enemy Returns (강철중: 공공의 적 1-1) though is still performing well with 303,939 admissions over the weekend and almost 4m admissions ($26m) in total.
Crossing (크로싱) has been very disappointing, but I did hear that the number of screens Crossing has been released on (297 - this week for example) is actually much lower, which might explain its poor performance despite the positive reviews it has recieved. But I can't confirm this - perhaps time will tell.
Santa Maria (잘못된 만남) hasn't opened very well on 29,252 admissions for the weekend, but The Good, The Bad and The Werid (좋은 놈, 나쁜 놈, 이상한 놈) was released on Friday - lets hope this release brings some optimism that the industry desperately needs.
Santa Maria (잘못된 만남) directed by Jeong Yeong-bae (정영배) and starring Jeong Woong-in (정웅인), Seong Ji-roo (성지루) & Choi Ji-yeon (최지연)
Korean Domestic Box office July 4-6 2008 (97% screens reporting)
| Name of Film | Week | Number of Admissions | 3-Day Gross (Won) | 3-Day Gross ($) | Screens | Total Gross |
| Hancock (US) Sony Pictures | NEW | 1,001,557 (1,328,345) | 6,635,619,000 | 6,380,821 | 686 | 8,413,881 |
| Wanted (US0) UPI | 2 | 493,239 (1,984,105) | 3,379,331,000 | 3,249,570 | 464 | 12,770,448 |
| Public Enemy Returns (강철중: 공공의 적 1-1) (S Korea) CJ Ent | 3 | 396,210 (3,415,658) | 2,609,577,500 | 2,509,373 | 523 | 21,751,063 |
| King Fu Panda (US) CJ Ent | 5 | 239,804 (4,289,327) | 1,519,077,000 | 1,460,747 | 426 | 26,535,658 |
| Crossing (크로싱) (S Korea) Big House Vantage Holdings | 3 | 149,296 (582,803) | 945,863,500 | 909,544 | 374 | 3,542,132 |
| The Strangers (US) Chungeorahm Films | NEW | 81,021 (119,633) | 523,585,000 | 503,480 | 231 | 715,685 |
| Crows: Episode 0 (Jap) Showbox/Mediaplex | NEW | 10,875 (14,684) | 70,242,000 | 67,545 | 191 | 90,637 |
| Urmel Aus Dem Eis (Ger) Mars Films | NEW | 10,451 (18,576) | 61,381,500 | 59,025 | 70 | 102,373 |
| Grindhouse (US) Lotte Ent | NEW | 8,357 (11,856) | 55,263,000 | 33,141 | 145 | 73,877 |
| Summer Days With Coo (Jap) Megabox | 2 | 5,100 (25,670) | 33,205,000 | 31,930 | 18 | 143,945 |
I am afraid I don't have a lot of time this week, so I can't go into any real depth.
It has been another strong weekend for Hollywood with Hancock opening on the No.1 spot with over a million admissions over a 3 day period. Not bad at all and Wanted is hardly doing badly with almost 2 million admissions ($12.7).
Public Enemy Returns (강철중: 공공의 적 1-1) is slipping away and seeing that it is still being shown on 523 screens, 396,210 is not wonderful, but hardly a disaster either. Crossing (크로싱) is still being pushed by Big Vantage Holdings, but 582,803 admissions since its release is not good news at all. It is a great shame. These are the only two Korean films in the box office at the moment. One hopes The Good, The Bad and The Weird, which is released later on in the month will reignite the box office.
Other than Hancock, all the other new releases are in the lower end of the box office with no film performing particuarly well. And Summer Days With Coo remains at the bottom of the box office for the second week running, but this can be misleading since its screen average is not too bad for a No.10 spot - $1,744.
Korean Domestic Box office June 27 - 29 2008 (97% screens reporting)
| Name of Film | Week | Number of Admissions | 3-Day Gross (won) | 3-Day Gross ($) | Screens | Total Gross |
| Wanted (US) Universal Pictures | NEW | 824,925 (1,062,219) | 5,611,210,500 | 5,367,700 | 629 | 6,809,471 |
| Public Enemy Returns (강철중: 공공의 적 1-1) (S Korea) CJ Ent | 2 | 718,870 (2,706,353) | 4,876,143,100 | 4,661,926 | 667 | 17,090,340 |
| Kung Fu Panda (US) CJ Ent | 4 | 425,807 (3,960,575) | 2,688,829,500 | 2,570,705 | 523 | 24,360,386 |
| Crossing (크로싱) (S Korea) Big House Vantage Holdings | 2 | 240,886 (325,437) | 1,571,205,000 | 1,502,179 | 400 | 1,983,184 |
| The Incredible Hulk (US) Universal Pictures | 3 | 46,337 (976,882) | 299,799,500 | 286,609 | 274 | 6,035,056 |
| Sex And The City (US) Cinema Service | 4 | 28,368 (1,050,070) | 199,377,100 | 190,618 | 129 | 6,662,193 |
| Get Smart (US) Warner Bros | 2 | 16,642 (167,958) | 110,157,500 | 105,318 | 225 | 1,039,595 |
| The Mighty Princess (무림여대생) (S Korea) Prime Ent | NEW | 16,988 (18,619) | 94,744,000 | 90,582 | 199 | 112,211 |
| 21 (US) Sony Pictures | 2 | 12,145 (102,513) | 83,957,500 | 80,269 | 89 | 661,488 |
| Summer Days With Coo (河童のクゥと夏休み) (Jap) Megabox | NEW | 10,059 (18,811) | 59,971,500 | 51,600 | 27 | 100,754 |
Unfortunately, Public Enemy Returns (강철중: 공공의 적 1-1) has already been forced to the No.2 spot following Wanted surprising success of 824,925 admissions ($5.3 m) over the weekend, though Public Enemy Returns (강철중: 공공의 적 1-1) was not far behind with 718,870 admissions ($4.6m) and it has generated 2.7 million admissions up until last weekend, which is not bad at all. Let's hope its success continues.
It appears now that Crossing (크로싱) was being previewed on during the weekend 20 - 22 June, but its lack of success has continued with a disappointing opening weekend with 240,866 admissions ($1.5m). I am not quite sure what has happened, but given the amount of Hollywood films available to watch, perhaps it is a factor.
The only other Korean film on show in the top 10 is My Mighty Princess (무림여대생), which is directed by Kwak Jae-Yong (곽재용), who is well known for his commercial hits such as My Sassy Girl (엽기적인 그녀), but this film has quite literally died at the box office. It hasn't even broken the 20,000 admissions mark on almost 200 screens. The film has been plagued with problems. It has been in post-production for 2 and a half years and the cast (Sin Min-ah (신민아) and On Joo-wan (온주완)) and the director were wondering if it was ever going to be released. It seems to be a combination of Prime Entertainment's lack of faith in the film, which seems well founded since it has bombed and the reviews have been very negative; and over some confusion regarding the stunts, which meant the actors were forced to do it themselves and therefore post-production tools were need to fix the lack of authenticity, or that is how I understand it.
The Mighty Princess (무림여대생) directed by Kwak Jae-Yong (곽재용 and starring Sin Min-ah (신민아), On Joo-wan (온주완) and Yoo Geon (유건)
Hollywood films are still going on strong, not least because of Kung-Fu Panda's roaring performance - it has generated almost 4 million admissions ($25m), which it now must of passed. The Incredible Hulk is holding on even though it is not doing amazingly well and Sex And The City; although it has never dominated the box office, it has remained consistent in its mid-table position and as a result it has made over 1 million admissions ($6.6m). Get Smart and 21 haven't done particularly well, though the latter has been released on fewer screens. And Summer Days With Coo (河童のクゥと夏休み), which is a Japanese film has had a respectable opening on 27 screens with just over 18,000 admissions ($100,754).
Korean Domestic Box office June 20 - 22 2008 (97% screens reporting)
| Name of Film | Week | Number of Admissions | 3-Day Gross (Won) | 3-Day Gross ($) | Screens | Total Gross |
| Public Enemy Returns (강철중: 공공의 적 1-1) (S Korea) CJ Ent | NEW | 1,057,829 (1,301,660) | 7,532,239,000 | 7,237,151 | 806 | 8,802,499 |
| Kung Fu Panda (US) CJ Ent | 3 | 597,794 (3,315,960) | 4,051,234,500 | 3,892,521 | 604 | 20,814,568 |
| The Incredible Hulk (US) Universal Pictures | 2 | 180,663 (860,347) | 1,247,355,500 | 1,198,488 | 415 | 5,457,021 |
| Get Smart (US) Warner Bros | NEW | 92,504 (109,263) | 639,760,500 | 614,697 | 249 | 722,732 |
| Sex And The City (US) Cinema Service | 3 | 73,679 (958,772) | 536,447,500 | 515,431 | 285 | 6,181,564 |
| 21 (US) Sony Pictures | NEW | 56,374 (65,575) | 387,431,000 | 372,253 | 87 | 430,997 |
| Doomsday (UK, US, S Africa) Chungeorahm Film (Korea) | NEW | 49,918 (61,025) | 363,067,000 | 348,843 | 264 | 421,533 |
| Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (US) CJ Ent | 5 | 32,764 (4,114,267) | 230,024,000 | 221,012 | 217 | 25,550,135 |
| The Happening (US) 20th Fox | 2 | 28,274 (328,205) | 213,924,500 | 205,544 | 293 | 2,176,732 |
| Crossing (크로싱) (S Korea) Big House Vantage Holdings | NEW | 13,790 (23,370) | 99,789,032 | 95,880 | 110 | 120,309 |
It goes with out saying that it has been a much better weekend for Korean cinema with Public Enemy Returns (강철중: 공공의 적 1-1) opening at the No. 1 and being the first film since The Chaser (추격자) to break over 1 million admissions. But its success has been largely helped by the fact that it was released on a staggering 806 screens. Whilst it is certainly encouraging to see it make over a million admissions over the weekend, ultimately we will have to wait and see whether it will repeat the success of the previous two films (Public Enemy and Another Public Enemy). With the high number of Internet users in Korea, word-of-mouth can both reignite or kill a film - lets hope it is not the latter. However, so far so good, and lets hope its success will continue and therefore put some needed drive in a domestic industry that is desperate for some success this summer following a very dry few months.
Public Enemy Returns (강철중: 공공의 적 1-1) directed by Kang Woo-seok (강우석) and starring Seol Kyeong-gu (설경구) (above) & Jeong Jae-yeong (정재영)
Crossing (크로싱), however, has had a very disappointing opening. But I was under the impression that it was being released this week - it doesn't make sense to release it with Public Enemy Returns (강철중: 공공의 적 1-1). But quite often films are released a little early for previews, but 110 screens seems a little too many for previews. Nonetheless, whether it has or hasn't been officially released, it is worrying to say the least that its total admissions up until the end of last weekend is just over 23,000 admissions. We will have to wait and see what happens, but I really hope it doesn't disappear from sight.
Crossing (크로싱) directed by Kim Tae-gyoon (김태균) starring Cha In-pyo (차인표) (above, left), Sin Myeong-cheol (신명철) (above, right) and Joo Da-yeong (주다영)
It has been another dominant weekend for Hollywood cinema despite losing the No.1 spot to Public Enemy Returns (강철중: 공공의 적 1-1). Kung Fu Panda is doing extremely well making 3.3 million admissions up until last weekend, which is very impressive. The Incredible Hulk hasn't done so well, which is a little surprising given the other comic films (Spiderman, Iron Man etc..) have done so well in Korea - perhaps there is too much out there for their tastes. I do wonder when the bubble will burst for these genre of films, not just in Korean market but for the whole world. Anyway, returning back to the box office; Get Smart hasn't opened too well on 249 screens with just over 100,000 admissions or $722,732 in the bank. Sex And The City has failed to gather momentum that has been witnessed elsewhere, or least in the UK - it was sold out everywhere for a couple of weeks. 21 has had a respectable opening on 87 screens - it has done much better than films released on over double the amount of screens. Doomsday has had a very poor opening on 264 screens - just short of 50,000 admissions over the weekend. Indiana has lost his reign on the box office and now struggles to make 32,764 on 217 screens, but with a total number of admissions at just over 4 million, which equates to $24.5 million, it has hardly been a bad run. But you can't say the same for The Happening, which had a terrible weekend. Although it has made 328,205 in total, which is not good for a fairly high profile Hollywood Film, last week on 293 screens it only attracted 28,274 people. The bloggers have obviously have had their say about the film.
Korean Domestic Box office June 13 - 15 2008 (97% screens reporting)
| Name of Film | Week | Number of Admissions | 3-Day Gross (Won) | 3-Day Gross ($) | Screens | Total Gross |
| Kung Fu Panda (US) CJ Ent | 2 | 908,368 (2,459,584) | 5,877,877,000 | 5,645,514 | 633 | 15,266,902 |
| The Incredible Hulk (US) Universal Pictures International | NEW | 455,588 (529,736) | 3,002,283,000 | 2,883,597 | 529 | 3,310,296 |
| The Happening (US) 20th Fox | NEW | 200,576 (236,324) | 1,391,912,000 | 1,336,887 | 304 | 1,560,555 |
| Sex and The City (US) Cinema Service | 2 | 171,691 (779,188) | 1,184,683,000 | 1,137,850 | 362 | 5,016,038 |
| Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (US) CJ Ent | 4 | 156,450 (4,035,778) | 1,010,612,000 | 970,661 | 351 | 25,035,077 |
| What Happens in Vegas (US) 20th Fox | 3 | 41,766 (677,421) | 282,971,500 | 217,785 | 192 | 4,250,666 |
| Beyond All Magic (흑심모녀) (S Kor) Showbox/Mediaplex | NEW | 34,053 (40,759) | 225,984,000 | 217,050 | 216 | 257,369 |
| Flash Point (HK) Studio 18 | NEW | 17,197 (21,901) | 115,639,000 | 111,068 | 175 | 135,669 |
| Girl Scout (걸스카우트) (S Korea) Lotte Ent | 2 | 17,045 (219,090) | 106,004,000 | 101,813 | 223 | 1,338,814 |
| The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (US) Walt Disney | 5 | 12,293 (1,475,804) | 72,378,500 | 69,517 | 95 | 8,854,426 |
Well, as you can see Kung-Fu Panda is roaring ahead with almost 2.5m admissions ($15.2 m) up until the close of the weekend. The Incredible Hulk meanwhile hasn't done too badly, though it would of liked to be top spot, I imagine. The Happening has had a reasonable opening, opening on 236,324 admissions ($1.5m). Sex and the City has been disappointing given its success elsewhere; perhaps its doesn't appeal to the women like it appeals to women here - in the UK its success has been unprecedented. Indiana is still making money with a nice $25m in the bank so far and it is still going. Where are all the Korean films? My apologies, I did think Public Enemy Returns was due a release this weekend, but I got my wires crossed - it is next weekend. It may be the first weekend a Korean film has made the top for quite a while.
Beyond All Magic (흑심모녀) has opened very poorly - 40,759 admissions on 216 screens. Very bad... Girl Scout (걸스카우트) hasn't improved on last weeks performence - oh dear!
Beyond All Magic (흑심모녀) directed by Jo Nam-ho (조남호) and starring Kim Soo-mi (김수미), Shim Hye-jin (심혜진), Lee Da-hee (이다희) & Lee Sang-woo (이상우)
As for other films in the top ten; What Happens in Vegas hasn't really done as well as 20th Fox would like, but it seems to have filled the gap that some less successful Korean films would normally fill. I am not sure whether that is a good or bad thing. Flash Point from Hong Kong has also opened very poorly and The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is stlil making money in the top 10, even if it is not a lot. Again, although this film hasn't been the suucess Walt Disney would of liked, it has filled a gap a Korean film would normally be happy to take.
Korean Domestic Box office June 06 - 08 2008 (97% screens reporting)
| Name of Film | Week | Number of Admissions | 3-Day Gross (won) | 3-Day Gross ($) | Screens | Total Gross ($) |
| Kung Fu Panda (US) CJ Ent | NEW | 1,148,609 (1,256,318) | 7,401,520,000 | 7,165,669 | 632 | 7,835,208 |
| Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (US) CJ Ent | 3 | 556,057 (3,781,166) | 3,571,786,000 | 3,457,970 | 527 | 23,657,608 |
| Sex and The City (US) Cinema Service | NEW | 348,255 (446,997) | 2,411,457,000 | 2,334,615 | 412 | 2,922,688 |
| What Happens in Vegas (US) 20th Fox | 2 | 158,023 (585,832) | 1,067,387,000 | 1,033,375 | 299 | 3,703,450 |
| Girl Scouts (걸스카우트) (S Korea) Lotte Ent | NEW | 132,687 (163,122) | 882,144,000 | 854,034 | 292 | 1,020,527 |
| The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (US) Walt Disney | 4 | 95,102 (1,454,625) | 574,713,500 | 556,400 | 236 | 8,802,146 |
| The Eye (US) Showbox/Mediaplex | NEW | 54,448 (64,223) | 350,458,500 | 339,291 | 123 | 393,721 |
| 88 Minutes (Ger, US) Prime Ent | 2 | 48,651 (269,165) | 318,368,500 | 308,224 | 236 | 1,707,708 |
| Iron Man (US) CJ Ent | 6 | 23,065 (4,308,344) | 146,337,500 | 141,674 | 99 | 26,867,351 |
| Body Sob 19 (Thai) KD Media | 2 | 12,546 (107,288) | 78,834,500 | 76,322 | 118 | 672,798 |
Well, another depressing weekend for Korean cinema. Only one Korean film in the top 10, Girl Scouts (걸스카우트) directed by Kim Sang-man (김상만) managed to struggle to the surface. Furthermore, it didn't really perform that well with only just over 160,000 admissions. Although it stars acting legend Nah Moon-hee (나문희) and Kim Seon-ah (김선아); both known for their work in comedy, it has failed to gather any momentum, though it could pick up in the week or so - lets hope so. But if you look at the synopsis, while you could see how it might be entertaining and funny, it is not different to many other contemporary Korean films. Here it is:
Mi-kyung drives a van for a private tutor institute. Yi-man works part time at a local supermarket. Bong-sun lives with her sick children, and Eun-ji is being chased down because of her father’s debt. Nothing can get any worse for these women and they only dream to live a simple life in the future, but one day, they get themselves into a big mess when Hyae-ran runs off with their money. Mi-kyung gathers up others to catch her and get their money back, and this is how the “Bongchon 3-dong Girl Scout” was organized. As they fall deep into a cruel underground world, the situation turns for the worse. (KOFIC)
Girl Scouts (걸스카우트) directed by Kim Sang-man (김상만) and starring Kim Seon-ah (김선아), Nah Moon-hee (나문희), Lee Kyeong-sil (이경실) & Ko Joon-hee (고준희)
There needs to be an effort to release less Korean films and focus more on quality and innovation that we all know Korea is more than capable of delievring in bucket loads. Let's hope the summer will be a good one for Korean cinema as it will be beginning to pull out the stops, which begins next week with the release of Public Enemy Returns directed by Kang Woo-seok (강우석) and starring one of Korea's greatest actors Seol Kyeong-gu (설경구), which is the third film of the Public Enemy series, which has been very successful in Korea. Released a week later (27 June) is Crossing directed by Kim Tae-gyoon (김태균) who's previous credits include Volcano High (화산고) and starring Cha In-pyo (차인표), which looks promising as it takes the viewers into North Korea. Yoo-Soo (played by Cha In-pyo) crosses from North Korea into China to help his pregnant wife as he cannot find medicine or food. He is soon forced to South Korea and in the meantime, his wife dies leaving his son alone, who searches to find his father. A review by the Korean Herald complemented it for its depiction of North Koreans as 'rare realism'. This film may do better abroad, but hopefully with the right marketing it could do really well domestically - this is the kind of the film that the industry needs to bring back its confidence.
Moving back to the box office, it is easy to see that Hollywood is very dominant in the box office at present with several successful releases such as Kung Fu Panda, which opened very well with just over 1.250m admissions and not to mention Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which is still going stong. Even The Iron Man is still making money generating almost $27 million to date. Meanwhile Sex and the City has attracted almost 450,000 people, but given its success elsewhere, it will be a little disappointing for Cinema Service. And of course there is The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, which hasn't really been box office gold, but it hasn't exactly flopped either, thus yet another U.S film capitalising on the reduction of the screen quota.
Korean Domestic box office May 30 - June 1 2008 (97% screens reporting)
| Name of Film | Week | Number of Admissions | 3-Day Gross (won) | 3-Day Gross ($) | Screens | Total Gross ($) |
| Indiana Jones And The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (US) CJ Ent | 2 | 848,730 (2,976,884) | 5,546,275,000 | 5,424,187 | 735 | 18,878,116 |
| What Happens in Vegas (US) 20th Fox | NEW | 252,981 (306,209) | 1,699,254,500 | 1,661,850 | 346 | 1,936,503 |
| The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (US) Walt Disney | 3 | 160,280 (1,326,335) | 997,776,000 | 975,812 | 402 | 8,128,223 |
| 88 Minutes (Ger, US) Prime Ent | NEW | 141,840 (163,022) | 945,116,000 | 924,312 | 257 | 1,055,743 |
| Iron Man (US) CJ Ent | 5 | 100,370 (4,255,337) | 648,811,000 | 634,529 | 323 | 26,812,715 |
| We Own The Night (US) Universial Pictures | NEW | 35,068 (43,904) | 237,159,000 | 231,939 | 168 | 287,323 |
| Never Back Down (US) Studio 2.0 | 2 | 15,497 (114,390) | 101,775,500 | 99,535 | 156 | 717,182 |
| Taken (Fr) Studio 2.0 | 8 | 12,477 (2,366,101) | 86,170,500 | 84,274 | 80 | 15,546,287 |
| Cherry Tomato (방울토마토) (S Korea) Moviez Entertainment, Cinerago Pictures | NEW | 11,280 (13,400) | 71,810,500 | 70,230 | 104 | 82,438 |
| SORRY NO INFO |