Korean films exceed 100 million viewers for third year in a row

Domestic films have sold 100 million tickets in movie theaters this year for the third year running, according to the state-run Korea Film Council.

This year, Korean films garnered 100.19 million viewers as of Tuesday, which indicates every Korean has watched an average of two local films on the silver screen in a country of 50 million people. Local films have earned a total of 763.2 billion won ($695.3 million) in box office revenue this year. 

A number of hit films contributed to the continuing success on the silver screen, including period action flick “Roaring Currents,” which attracted more than 17.6 million viewers, becoming the most-watched movie in Korean cinema history.

“The Attorney,” a drama inspired by the late President Roh Moo-hyun, broke the coveted 10 million mark this year as well. Meanwhile, period action flick “The Pirates” and comedy drama film “Miss Granny” both attracted around 8 million viewers.

The number of local film releases has been steadily increasing as well over the past five years. A total of 142 Korean films premiered in 2010, 150 in 2011, 175 in 2012, 183 in 2013 and 219 this year.

Imported films have taken five spots on the list of 10 highest-grossing films, a great stride from last year when only one out of top 10 box office hits was imported.

Foreign films have already surpassed 100 million viewers for the first time in Korean cinema history. As of Tuesday, foreign films have sold 104.6 million tickets this year, buoyed by Disney’s “Frozen,” which became the first animated film to break the 10 million mark, and sci-fi flick “Interstellar,” which will also join the coveted 10 million club soon.

In 2014, the total number of tickets sold for both Korean and foreign movies passed 200 million for the second straight year. As of today, the figure stands at 204.9 million viewers, while box office sales have accounted for 1.586 trillion won ($1.445 billion).

By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)