Korea’s first musical-to-film maximizes plot with grand, sublime musical numbers, indispensable supporting roles

The South Korean period thriller "The Night Owl" has stayed atop the weekend box office for the third time in a row, data showed Monday. The movie topped the box office chart for last weekend beginning Friday, selling about 468,000 tickets, according to the data from the Korean Film Council. The flick has been on top of the weekend chart as well as the daily chart since it opened in South Korean theaters on Nov. 23, amassing 2.52 million viewers. Set in the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910),

The film festival put forth star creators in its goals for reformation into a global awards

Despite efforts to renew itself, ceremony remains lackluster, chaotic

Even If This Love Disappears Tonight (Japan) Opened Nov. 30 Romance Directed by Takahiro Miki The movie, based on the novel by the same title by the Japanese author Misaki Ichijo, tells a story of high school students Toru Kamiya (Shunsuke Michieda) and Maori Hino (Riko Fukumoto) who go on a date despite Maori suffering from a condition in which she loses all memory of the previous day upon waking up the next morning. Overcoming such a hurdle, Toru promises Maori as many happy memories as possib

The Korean Film Council will hold the Freedom of Expression Film Festival from Friday until Dec. 18, with local independent film theaters screening 20 films that were blacklisted during previous conservative administrations. The existence of the blacklist came to light in 2016. The 20 films include director Park Chan-wook’s “Joint Security Area” (2000), “The Handmaiden” (2016), director Chung Ji-young’s “National Security” (2012) and movies starrin

Following the dire, years-long pandemic-related difficulties, local theaters are hoping the box office records will get a year-end boost with a slew of new releases -- from the much-anticipated James Cameron blockbuster “Avatar: The Way of Water” to South Korea’s first ever musical-to-screen movie “Hero.” Will those films bring back to theaters people who have been streaming Netflix in the comfort of their homes? Or will they stay home, begrudging the ticket price

Oscar-winning film director Bong Joon-ho’s next movie, “Mickey 17,” will hit theaters on March 29, 2024, Warner Bros. Pictures confirmed Tuesday. The movie is based on Edward Ashton’s 2022 sci-fi novel “Mickey7,” which tells the story of Mickey7, an expendable employee who is sent on a dangerous mission to colonize an ice world called Niflheim. “Twilight” series’ Robert Pattinson plays the lead role. The cast also includes Hollywood stars Nao

Veteran actor's departure follows singer-actor Lee Seung-gi's bolt from agency mired in controversy

The fourth annual Jongno Culture Diversity Film Festival will kick off Thursday to share the meaning and value of diversity through film, according to the Jongno Foundation for Arts & Culture on Monday. Established in 2019, the annual event will take place Dec. 8-20 at Emu Arts Space in Jongno under the slogan “Stories of Yours, Mine and Ours.” Eight films designated as "films of the year" by the foundation that look into diversity on the topics of generation, era, rela

Netflix confirmed Friday the production of a new documentary film, with the working title, “Yellow Door: Looking for Director Bong’s Unreleased Short Film.” The upcoming film will take the audience on a journey to uncover Bong Joon-ho's first film as told through the stories of others around him during his younger directing days. Prior to the 18-minute short film “White Man” (1994), a film widely known as the director’s first film, the Oscar-winning dir

Men of Plastic (Korea) Opened Nov. 30 Comedy Directed by Lim Jin-sun Born and raised in the posh, affluent Apgujeong-dong in southern Seoul, Dae-guk (Don Lee) is familiar with plastic surgery and skin care shops, as so many are located in Apgujeong-dong. To realize his business idea to start his own plastic surgery clinic, he meets the area’s most renowned plastic surgeon Ji-woo (Jung Kyung-ho), and together they begin to realize the dream of opening Asia’s most famous plastic surger

Ju Ji-hoon is returning to the screen for the first time in four years with the comedy film, “Gentleman,” alongside his close friend and fellow actor Park Sung-woong who gets to become a different type of villain. “At first, I refused because I have played so many similar bad guy roles before, but it was Ju Ji-hoon who persuaded me to team up for this film, rather than appearing in each other’s movie for brief cameo parts,” Park said during a press conference held a

Singer and actor Park Jin-young, who played a sweet boyfriend in the series “Yumi’s Cells,” returns as a boy seeking bloody revenge in the upcoming thriller film “Christmas Carol.” Based on the novel of the same title by Ju Won-kyu, the film revolves around Il-woo who voluntarily enters a juvenile detention center to exact revenge following the death of his twin brother, Wol-woo. Il-woo suspects his brother was murdered after a brutal confrontation with a juvenile d

SINGAPORE -- While celebrating the magical moments created by its iconic characters and stories, Walt Disney Co. is trying not to dwell too much on past successes, as it seeks to prepare content for the next 100 years and future generations. “We have drawn iconic characters and stories that fabricate the global culture, from our theatrical releases to award-winning shows. Disney has launched over 45 Asia-Pacific content titles in Disney+ and Disney+ Hotstar this year, " said Luke Ka