Popular mystery drama “The Cursed” has made its way to the big screen in a feature film adaption of the tvN series that aired from January to March last year. Yeon Sang-ho, who is widely known for directing multiple zombie films including “Train to Busan” and “Peninsula,” wrote the script for the movie version, “The Cursed: Dead Man’s Prey,” which is being directed by Kim Yong-Wan. “The drama was a thriller that featured mysterious

The upcoming superhero film "Black Widow" is expected to smash the virus-hit South Korean box office, with its presale tickets reaching a fresh yearly high, data showed Tuesday. Marvel Studios' latest film recorded 218,000 presold tickets as of 9:00 a.m. a day before its local release, according to the data by the Korean Film Council. It accounted for 84.2 percent of all tickets reserved at that time, overwhelming Disney's live-action film "Cruella" with 3.4 percent and Kor

Three Korean films -- “In Front of Your Face” by Hong Sang-soo, “Emergency Declaration” by Han Jae-rim and “Cicada” by Yoon Dae-won -- will be screened at the 74th Cannes Film Festival that kicks off Tuesday in France. “In Front of Your Face” was selected in the Cannes Premiere section, a new category dedicated to works from well-established filmmakers. This is Hong’s 11th movie to be invited to the Cannes Film Festival. “Emergency D

The Seoul Cinema, which opened in 1979, announced on Saturday that it will soon close its doors permanently. “The Seoul Cinema, which has been a beloved cultural center of Jongno-gu for over 40 years, will close permanently on Aug. 31, 2021,” theater operator Hapdong Film said in a statement. The operator added that it is currently preparing to make changes, but did not announce specific plans on how the facility will be used in the future. Established in 1964, Hapdong Film was

Filming for “Bogota: City of the Lost,” starring Song Joong-ki, was suspended after one of the actors tested positive for COVID-19. Shooting of the crime drama will not resume until all the cast members end their self-quarantine, according to the film‘s distributor Megabox Plus M. After being informed that a patient confirmed with COVID-19 had been on a filming site Wednesday, the film‘s main star Song immediately canceled all his engagements and was tested for the vi

Korean action film “Escape from Mogadishu,” directed by Ryoo Seung-wan, features a story based on a true event involving South and North Korean diplomats in Somalia during the 1991 civil war. “Dexter Studios had plans to create a movie based on a true event. The company proposed to me to be part of the project,” director Ryoo said during an online press conference held on Thursday. “I only knew briefly about what happened in Somalia. As I did more research I became

Only two homegrown movies made the top 10 in the local box office over the first six months of this year, while the Hollywood actioner "F9" became the biggest hit in South Korea, data showed Saturday. "F9," the latest chapter in the "Fast and Furious" series, was the most-watched film in the first half of 2021, drawing over 2.28 moviegoers at the end of June, according to the box office data compiled by the Korean Film Council. The Japanese animation "Demon

Streaming platform Tving’s original action thriller “Midnight” has been invited to screen at the 25th Fantasia International Film Festival and the 20th New York Asian Film Festival. The horror flick centers around a woman with a hearing impairment who becomes a serial killer’s target after witnessing a murder at midnight. Since its release on Wednesday, the movie has topped the domestic box office and is set to premiere in France, Japan, Vietnam and elsewhere. It is d

Two South Korean actresses, including Oscar-winning Youn Yuh-jung, have been invited to the membership of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) that organizes the prestigious Academy Awards. In the 2021 list of new members in the filmmaking industry released Thursday (US time), AMPAS unveiled the names of 395 artists and experts in the filmmaking industry from 50 countries. Among 32 selected actors were Korean actresses Youn and Han Yeri, both stars of the immigrant film &quo

The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard (US) Opened June 23 Action, Comedy Directed by Patrick Hughes After becoming a bodyguard of hitman Darius (Samuel L. Jackson), Michael Bryce (Ryan Reynolds) keeps having nightmares. Michael finally decides to quit his job, but on the day Darius’ wife Sonia Kincaid (Salma Hayek) comes to him for help. She says that her husband Darius has been kidnapped by mobsters.　 Hard Hit (Korea) Opened June 23 Action Directed by Kim Chang-Ju Sung-kyu (Jo Woo-

The 104-minute documentary film on the 2017 murder case of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s half brother Kim Jong-nam has been approved as an art film after reevaluation by the South Korean film authority. The local importers and distributers of the film -- The Coup, Watcha and Kth -- announced Tuesday that the Korean Film Council has officially confirmed the film now qualifies art movie status. “Assassins” had initially been informed of its denial as an art film by KOFIC on

A slew of homegrown horror and thriller films are ready to make audiences feel a shiver cascading down their spines and forget the oppressive summer heat outside in the coming months. The action thriller "Midnight," scheduled to be released simultaneously in theaters and via streaming platform Tving on Wednesday, will open the prime months of July and August for scary movies. The film, a directorial debut of Kwon Oh-seung, follows a deaf girl who is stalked by a serial killer after w

The EBS International Documentary Film Festival started recruiting audience panels on June 21. The participants will cast votes for the grand prize, the Grand Prix prize, and the audience panel award under the two main competitive sections, “Festival Choice: Global” and “Festival Choice: Asia.” The panels will also have to choose the best audience panel award as well. The winner of the audience panel award will be decided by adding up the audience panel’s votes

The director of the highly anticipated Korean mystery thriller “The 8th Night” Kim Tae-hyung said his new movie is unique because it features Buddhist monks in a way moviegoers have never seen them before. “Our movie shows that Buddist monks can also appear as exorcists,” the director said during an online press conference held on Monday, ahead of the film’s Netflix release on Friday. “I agree with the director. I am a Christian but I have wondered why onl

The South Korean actioner "Hard Hit" topped the local box office over the weekend, recording the biggest opening-weekend score for homegrown movies this year, data showed Monday. The film, released Wednesday, attracted 253,000 people over the Friday-Sunday period, taking the No. 1 spot at the South Korean box office on its first weekend, according to the data by the Korean Film Council. The figure was the largest first weekend admission record set by a South Korean film throughout 20