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| ▲ This photo provided by Plus M Entertainment shows actors Koo Kyo-hwan (L) and Lee Je-hoon as Hyun-sang and Gyu-nam |
SEOUL, Aug. 22 (Yonhap) -- The summer box office saw a resurgence in Korean cinema last month, driven by the success of mid-budget films such as "Escape" starring Lee Je-hoon and Koo Kyo-hwan. This shift suggests that the dominance of blockbuster "tentpole" films in the summer season may be waning.
According to the Korean Film Council's industry report released on the 22nd, the number of Korean filmgoers in July reached 5.62 million, a 69.0% increase from the same month last year (3.32 million). This figure also surpassed the pre-pandemic July average (2017-2019) of 5.2 million by 8.2%.
While July of last year had few notable Korean hits besides the blockbuster "Smugglers," last month saw multiple mid-cost films such as "Escape," "Handsome Guys," and "Pilot" performing well, contributing to the strong showing. The Korean Film Council noted that these three films, each with a break-even point around 2 million viewers, represent a shift in the traditional summer box office model, where large-scale Korean films typically dominated.
Revenue from Korean films last month also rose to 53.4 billion KRW, 30.7% higher than the July average from 2017 to 2019 (40.8 billion KRW), and 68.8% higher than last July (31.6 billion KRW).
In contrast, foreign films struggled, with the audience number dropping to 6.41 million, less than half the July average from 2017 to 2019 (15.82 million). This represents a 41.5% decrease from the same month last year (10.95 million). Last July saw hits like "Elemental" and "Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One," but last month, films like "Deadpool and Wolverine" fell short of expectations.
Overall, the combined audience for both Korean and foreign films in July was 12.03 million, down 15.7% from the same month last year (14.28 million) and only 57.3% of the July average from 2017 to 2019 (21.02 million).
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