The domestic film industry’s cumulative sales this year from January to November broke KRW 1 trillion for the first time since the COVID-19 outbreak in early 2020.
The Korean Film Council on Dec. 15 said the sector’s cumulative turnover reached KRW 1.26 trillion in the first 11 months of the year, up 100.5% or KRW 502.5 billion year on year and 58% of the figure over the same period in 2019 before the pandemic struck.
The cumulative number of moviegoers of 98.63 million was 89.6% more than the year before and equal to 48.3% of the figure in 2019.
The biggest domestic blockbuster was the crime-action thriller “The Roundup,” a sequel to the hit “The Outlaws,” with 12.69 million tickets, including a million within two days after its premiere. The film also lured 10 million viewers 25 days after its release as the first to break the 10 million mark in about three years on the pandemic-damaged domestic market for movie theaters.
Second place went to “Top Gun: Maverick” (8.17 million), followed in order by “Hansan: Rising Dragon” (7.26 million), “Confidential Assignment 2: International” (6.98 million) and “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” (5.88 million).
On sales this year reaching KRW 1 trillion, the council said, “Beginning with ‘The Roundup’ in May, consecutive releases of highly anticipated films targeting the peak summer season and the Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) holiday such as ‘Top Gun: Maverick,’ ‘Hansan: Rising Dragon’ and ‘Confidential Assignment 2: International’ contributed to the result.”
Source: Korea.net