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.
I have decided to change this page a little so it is a little more simpler, and it also includes a yearly box office chart. As you can see the archive doesn't include every week, which is due to a bug that somehow deleted some of the data on the site, and the fact that I haven't been able to update it on a weekly, or even yearly basis. However, I will try and update it as often as I can, and this may mean I put up links instead of the charts themselves. Where possible, I will include some analysis, but due to time restraints this may not always be possible.
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 = C.J Entertainment
Lotte = Lotte Entertainment
Prime = Prime Entertainment
South Korean Yearly Box Office 2011
| Title | Release Date | Total Number of Admissions | Number of screens | Share |
| Transformers: Dark of the Moon (U.S, CJ) | June 29th | 7,790,297 | 1,756 | 6.56% |
| Sunny / 써니 (South Korea, CJ) | May 4th | 7,369,172 | 1,690 | 6.21% |
| Arrow the Ultimate Weapon / 최종병기 활 (活) (S Korea, Lotte) | Aug 10th | 7,044,714 | 1,547 | 5.93% |
| Kung Fu Panda 2 (U.S, CJ) | May 26th | 5,065,388 | 1,596 | 4.26% |
| Detective K: Secret of the Virtuous Widow / 조선명탐정: 각시투구꽃의 비밀 (S Korea, Showbox) | Jan 27th | 4,795,460 | 1,475 | 4.04% |
| Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part Two (U.S & U.K, Warner Bros) | July 13th | 4,400,205 | 1,165 | 3.7% |
| Pirates of the Caribbean: on Stranger Tides (U.S) | May 19th | 3,134,173 | 1,556 | 2.64% |
| Quick / 퀵 (S Korea, CJ) | July 20th | 3,126,788 | 1,487 | 2.63% |
| The Front Line / 고지전 (S Korea, Showbox) | July 20th | 2,945,990 | 1,475 | 2.48% |
| Rise of the Planet of the Apes (U.S, 20th Fox) | Aug 17 | 2,743,568 | 1,370 | 2.31% |
Weekly Box Office
South Korean Domestic Box Office: September 23 - September 25 2011
| Title | Release Date | Number of Admissions | Number of Screens | Share |
| The Crucible / 도가니 (South Korea, CJ) | Sep 22 | 685,784 (914,369) | 659 | 48.9% |
| Arrow the Ultimate Weapon / 최종병기 활 (活) (S Korea, Lotte) | Aug 10 | 149,183 (7,042,686) | 394 | 10.63% |
| Contagion (U.S, Warner Bros) | Sept 22 | 111,932 (133,147) | 235 | 7.98% |
| Mr. Popper's Penguins (U.S, 20th Fox) | Sept 07 | 85,808 (848,949) | 302 | 6.11% |
| Marrying the Mafia 4 / 가문의 영광 4 - 가문의 수난(S Korea, N.E.W) | Sept 07 | 74,487 (2,283,806) | 335 | 5.31% |
| Killer Elite (U.S, SK Telekom) | Sept 22 | 70,328 (90,591) | 264 | 5% |
| The Client / 의뢰인 (S. Korea, Showbox) | Sept 29 | 61,074 (61,074) | 203 | 4.35% |
| Countdown 카운트다운 (S.Korea, SidusFNH) | Sept 29 | 32,100 (39,279) | 212 | 2.28% |
| Pained / 통증(S Korea, Lotte) | Sept 07 | 24,591 (673,342) | 234 | 1.75% |
| Champ / 챔프 (S. Korea, Showbox) | Sept 07 | 17,824 (514,194) | 233 | 1.27% |
Arrow The Ultimate Weapon has lost its number one spot again, this time due to The Crucible's / 도가니 strong opening. On 221 screens last week, which I assume were previews, it didn't do particularly well, but has launched to the top following strong reviews and good word-of-mouth. I said last week that some were perhaps put off by its heavy topic (see below for more info), but this hasn't, it seems, deterred viewers.
It's also worth noting that Arrow The Ultimate Weapon has now surpassed 7 million admissions, so it's set to become the biggest Korean hit of the year. But at the same time, however, its momentum has slowed somewhat, partly due to the reduced number of screens. I hear that Lotte are aiming for 10 million viewers, but at this stage, I suspect this is a little optimistic. Surpassing Sunny's tally of 7.3 million is almost certain, and it could take Transformers: Dark of the Moon of the top spot if it continues to stay in the top half of the box office over the next two weeks or so.
Contagion meanwhile opened relatively well on 235 screens and Marrying the Mafia 4 / 가문의 영광 4 - 가문의 수난 has now amassed a respectable 2.28 million admissions illustrating that the series still has some steam left in it.
The Client / 의뢰인 and Countdown 카운트다운, which both officially open this weekend have taken 100,000 admissions between them, but it looks like The Client / 의뢰인 will perform better if this is an indicator of their final box office tally. The Client / 의뢰인 took almost twice the number of admissions on nine fewer screens.
Pained / 통증 and Champ / 챔프 are both looking to end their box office run with a disappointing tally - Pained / 통증 has made just 673,342 admissions, while Champ / 챔프 has just about broken the 0.5 million mark.
Weekly Box Office
South Korean Domestic Box Office: September 16 - September 18 2011
| Title | Release Date | Number of Admissions | Number of Screens |
| Arrow the Ultimate Weapon / 최종병기 활 (活) (S Korea, Lotte) | Aug 10 | 292,931 (6,589,663) | 466 |
| Marrying the Mafia 4 / 가문의 영광 4 - 가문의 수난(S Korea, N.E.W) | Sept 07 | 258,466 (1,917,256) | 475 |
| Mr. Popper's Penguins (U.S, 20th Fox) | Sept 07 | 172,668 (640,685) | 331 |
| Pained / 통증(S Korea, Lotte) | Sept 07 | 105,016 (555,879) | 353 |
| The Crucible (South Korea, CJ) | Sept 22 | 80,146 (89,201) | 221 |
| Rise of the Planet of the Apes (U.S, 20th Fox) | Aug 17 | 70,467 (2,558,467) | 284 |
| Champ / 챔프 (S. Korea, Showbox) | Sept 07 | 69,780 (420,633) | 333 |
| Shark Night 3D (US, Hwa & Dam Ent) | Sept 15 | 49,646 (61,148) | 246 |
| Final Destination 5 (U.S, Warner Bros) | Sept 08 | 43,462 (206,718) | 138 |
| Hindsight / 푸른 소금 (S Korea, CJ) | Aug 31 | 42,824 (681,757) | 286 |
Arrow the Ultimate Weapon / 최종병기 활 (活) returned to the top of the box office. Kim Han-min's historical bow and arrow epic has returned to number one with 328,000 admissions over the weekend making its total tally as of Thursday at 6.87 million admissions, so its almost certain to become the biggest Korean hit of the year. In fact it made 6 million admissions in just 35 days, which is faster than Sunny, which is currently the most popular Korean film of the year.
Marrying the Mafia 4 Family Ordeal meanwhile is sitting at number two with a respectable tally of 2.1 million admissions, so audiences are still enjoying that. Mr Popper's Penguins are at number 3 with a 64,000 admissions.
The Crucible directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk hasn't opened massively well, but its tough subject matter about a group of children with disabilities who are abused by their teachers has perhaps put some off. It is being screened on a relatively few number of screens though - probably because of previews - so it might pick up later on..
Pained directed by Kwak Gyeong-taek and Champ starring Cha Tae-hyun haven't performed to expectations and both will be lucky to make the one million mark. With the success of Arrow the Ultimate Weapon and to a less extent Marrying the Mafia: Family Ordeal, other films are not getting a look in.
Weekly Box Office
South Korean Domestic Box Office: September 09 - September 11 2011
| Title | Release Date | Number of Admissions | Number of Screens | Share |
| Marrying the Mafia 4 / 가문의 영광 4 - 가문의 수난(S Korea, N.E.W) | Sept 07 | 601,460 (806,473) | 580 | 30.54% |
| Arrow the Ultimate Weapon / 최종병기 활 (活) (S Korea, Lotte) | Aug 10 | 405,832 (5,708,436) | 529 | 20.6% |
| Mr. Popper's Penguins (U.S, 20th Fox) | Sept 07 | 170,432 (193,730) | 375 | 8.65% |
| Pained / 통증(S Korea, Lotte) | Sept 07 | 157,419 (248,950) | 390 | 7.99% |
| Rise of the Planet of the Apes (U.S, 20th Fox) | Aug 17 | 125,826 (2,401,275) | 331 | 6.38% |
| Champ / 챔프 (S. Korea, Showbox) | Sept 07 | 113,630 (161,557) | 371 | 5.76% |
| Hindsight / 푸른 소금 (S Korea, CJ) | Aug 31 | 80,882 (539,624) | 350 | 4.1% |
| Colombiana (US, France, Lotte) | Aug 31 | 68,480 (416,061) | 303 | 3.47% |
| Final Destination 5 (U.S, Warner Bros) | Sept 08 | 65,130 (87,187) | 178 | 3.3% |
| Seafood (Malaysia, Hong Kong, U.S, Sidus) | Sept 08 | 42,068 (43,310) | 208 | 2.13% |
A bit of a surprise last weekend as Marrying the Mafia 4 / 가문의 영광 4 - 가문의 수난 comes from nowhere to move to No.1. Unless there is an error somewhere along the lines as to how many screens this film was shown on between Sept 2th and Sept 4th, the opening previews were not terribly successful, but it's bounced back, possibly due to strong word-of-mouth. I went to see it over the weekend and while it has no story to speak of, and some very cheap laughs, the audience thoroughly enjoyed it, and so did I. If you know the series, you will know the films are not particularly clever; they are simply hilarious, and the final installment is no exception. Over the chuseok period it actually made over a million admissions, and the last film made 2.5 million so it looks like it could meet the success of the last film.
Marrying the Mafia 4 / 가문의 영광 4 - 가문의 수난 directed by Jeong Tae-won (정태원) and starring Kim Soo-mi (김수미) & Shin Hyeon-joon (신현준)
Arrow the Ultimate Weapon / 최종병기 활 has now amassed over 6 million admissions (the stats above are for the weekend only) and I can see it hitting the 7 million mark with no difficulty, and it could even break the 8 million mark.
Pained continues its disappointing spell, and despite some good reviews it has failed to take in the cash over the all important Chuseok weekend. Champ too has been a disappointment - while I actually enjoyed it, it is not too dissimilar to so many other Korean films and as the domestic box office gets evermore competitive, audiences are no longer content with sentimental Korean films. Hindsight too has been a failure and now even hitting the one million mark will be a bit of a struggle.
Champ / 챔프 directed by Lee Hwan-gyeong (이환경) starring Cha Tae-hyeon (차태현)
As for the Hollywood films, Rise of the Planet of the Apes begins to slip, but 2.5 million admissions is a respectable tally after almost 4 weeks on release. Final Destination 5 meanwhile didn't open terribly well as did Seafood, and Colombiana looks to end its poor run in the coming days. Mr. Popper's Penguins starring Jim Carrey tried to capitalize on the extra revenue over Chuseok, but didn't perform amazingly well. I suspect it will soon slip.
Weekly Box Office
South Korean Domestic Box Office: September 02 - September 04 2011
| Title | Release Date | Number of Admissions | Number of Screens | Share |
| Arrow the Ultimate Weapon / 최종병기 활 (活) (S Korea, Lotte) | Aug 10 | 420,768 (5,118,552) | 561 | 28.04% |
| Hindsight / 푸른 소금 (S Korea, CJ) | Aug 31 | 269,944 (361,033) | 524 | 17.32% |
| Rise of the Planet of the Apes (U.S, 20th Fox) | Aug 17 | 240,174 (2,197,341) | 380 | 16% |
| Colombiana (US, France, Lotte) | Aug 31 | 171,262 (268,552) | 447 | 11.31% |
| Blind / 블라인드 (S Korea) | Aug 10 | 130,474 (2,137,828) | 330 | 8.69% |
| Marrying the Mafia 4 / 가문의 영광 4 - 가문의 수난(S Korea, N.E.W) | Sept 07 | 67,385 (71,697) | 218 | 4.49% |
| Leafie, a Hen into the Wild / 마당을 나온 암탉(S.Korea, Lotte) | July 27 | 58,778 (2,008,329) | 283 | 3.91% |
| The Smurfs (US) | Aug 11 | 34,791 (972,144) | 205 | 2.31% |
| 3 Idiots (India, Filament Pics) | Aug 18 | 29,942 (278,815) | 133 | 1.99% |
| Pained (S Korea, Lotte) | Sept 07 | 26,456 (34,449) | 187 | 1.76% |
It's been an interesting weekend for the Korean box office as Arrow the Ultimate Weapon / 최종병기 활 (活) continues to race ahead with over 5 million admissions and there is little sign that its box office run will end anytime soon. Given that Chuseok this coming weekend, it is in great position to maximize its box office tally. It's already become the second most successful Korean film of the year, and I suspect it will become the year's most popular film thus far. Last weekend was its fourth week in the box office and yet it still made over 400,000 admissions, so its total tally could reach the 8 million mark, or even more.
Hindsight / 푸른 소금 directed by Lee Hyeon-seung (이현승) and starring Song Kang-ho (송강호) & Sin Se-kyeong (신세경)
Hindsight / 푸른 소금 despite the presence of Song Kang-ho (송강호) could only make the No.2 spot - a film of this profile should at least open at No.1 so this will be disappointing for CJ. It has though been receiving mix reviews, and unless it picks up some momentum over Chuseok, it's likely to make any real impact, but it is early days. Another disappointment is Marrying the Mafia 4 / 가문의 영광 4 - 가문의 수난, which as the title suggests is fourth in the franchise, and by looking at its box office tally it suggests it's one too far. This is the first time Jeong Tae-won (정태원) has directed a film - he tends to produce films including the first two films of the series - so perhaps directing is not his thing.
Marrying the Mafia 4 / 가문의 영광 4 - 가문의 수난 directed by Jeong Tae-won (정태원) and starring Kim Soo-mi (김수미) & Shin Hyeon-joon (신현준)
Kwak Gyeon-taek's (곽경택) latest film, Pained / 통증, couldn't have done even worse and while it was only screened on 187 screens, under 35,000 admissions following its opening weekend will be bitterly disappointing for him, not least because his films are normally relatively successful. Starring prolific Kwon Sang-woo (권상우) and Jeong Ryeo-won (정려원) it failed to make a mark on the box office charts. Although it has opened on a relatively few number of screens, Kwak, I suspect, was hoping for a stronger performance.
Painted / 통증 directed by Kwak Gyeon-taek's (곽경택) (above) starring Kwon Sang-woo (권상우) and Jeong Ryeo-won (정려원)
Meanwhile Leafie, a Hen into the Wild / 마당을 나온 암탉(S.Korea, Lotte) has broken the 2 million mark, which is a tremendous achievement - this is a first for a Korean animation. Rise of the Planet of the Apes has also made it past 2 million, and so has Blind / 블라인드 as it continues to make its presence felt. Colombiana opened poorly on 447 screens, and The Smurfs has yet to make a million admissions. And finally 3 Idiots continues to perform relatively well on few screens as it looks to make the 300,000 mark.
Weekly Box Office
South Korean Domestic Box Office: August 26th - August 28th 2011
| Title | Release Date | Number of Admissions (Total) | Number of screens | Share |
| Arrow the Ultimate Weapon / 최종병기 활 (活) (S Korea, Lotte) | Aug 10th | 706,657 (4,392,413) | 638 | 34.64% |
| Rise of the Planet of the Apes (U.S, 20th Fox) | Aug 17th | 485,153 (1,787,984) | 516 | 24.27% |
| Blind / 블라인드 (S Korea) | Aug 10th | 257,752 (1,863,503) | 418 | 12.63% |
| Leafie, a Hen into the Wild / 마당을 나온 암탉(S.Korea, Lotte) | July 27th | 137,657 (1,923,926) | 367 | 6.74% |
| The Smurfs (US) | Aug 11th | 111,292 (951,654) | 319 | 5.45% |
| 3 Idiots (India, Filament Pics) | Aug 18th | 47,187 (217,621) | 194 | 2.31% |
| Don't be Afraid of the Dark (US, Hwa&Dam Ent) | Aug 25th | 39,268 (41,937) | 293 | 1.92% |
| Quick / 퀵 (S Korea, CJ) | July 20th | 34,061 (3,098,510) | 227 | 1.67% |
| The Hangover Part II (US, Warner Bros) | Aug 25th | 29,665 (37,175) | 180 | 1.45% |
| Children who Chase Lost Voices from Bel (Japan) | Aug 25th | 28,639 (36,055) | 185 | 1.4% |
It's been a while since I have done the box office analysis, but in many ways little has changed - you still have the mix of Hollywood and Korean films together with one or two films from other countries. Arrow the Ultimate Weapon / 최종병기 활 is entertaining audiences at the moment as it maintains its position in the box office three weeks after release, and has now accumulated almost 4.4 million admissions. I read an article over the weekend, and if I understood it correctly - it was in Korean - Arrow or 활 as it is often referred to, will take poll position at Korea's biggest holiday, Chuseok, and thus, is expected to make serious cash over the holiday period. This would suggest, therefore, that it will become one of the, if not 'the' biggest hit of the year. You can read my thoughts on the film here, which I wrote for the film of the month.
Arrow the Ultimate Weapon / 최종병기 활
Rise of the planet of the Apes remains strong following positive reviews and while it's unlikely that it won't be as popular as say, Transformers, it should do relatively well - it's currently attracted almost 1.8 million admissions.
Local thriller Blind / 블라인드 while not a box office hit is not exactly a box office disaster - it's currently on almost 2 million admissions - and investors should be relatively content with its performance thus far. Leafie, a Hen into the Wild / 마당을 나온 암탉 is now Korea's most successful animation as it's on the verge of reaching 2 million admissions. Released over a month ago, it has cemented itself in the top half of the box office chart, so no doubt those involved in working on the film will be pleased with its strong and consistent performance. In a society where both online and offline opinions are so important, if a film is going to do well theatrically, it needs strong word-of-mouth.
Images from Blind / 블라인드 (above, left) and Leafie, a Hen into the Wild / 마당을 나온 암탉 (above, right)
As for the remainder of the box office, it's predominantly full of box office failures. The Smurfs has mirrored its lack of success outside of Korea not even breaking the one million admissions mark, and Don't be Afraid of the Dark has had a very poor opening struggling to make just under 42,000 admissions on 293 screens - expect it to disappear soon. The Hangover Part II hasn't exactly been box office dynamite either, but Quick / 퀵 has a modest box office tally as its now broken the 3 million admissions mark to become the 8th most popular film this year, and the 4th most popular Korean film.