Korean Box Office Report - January 27/30

Enter the Clown...

They've done it. 8 Million, top film of the year, 3rd most successful of all time. Lee Joon-Ik's 왕의 남자 (The King and The Clown) continues its incredible box office run, which started a mere month ago, and it shows no signs of stopping. Released last December 29, and having to compete with multi Billion-won blockbusters -- 야수 (Running Wild), 쳥연 (Blue Swallow) and 태풍 (Typhoon) -- and big Hollywood blockbusters -- The Chronicles of Narnia and King Kong -- this 'little' Historical Drama with no stars beat them all, showing how much word of mouth can change a film's fortune in Korea.

Just like the other big sensation of 2005, Park Gwang-Hyun's 웰컴 투 동막골 (Welcome To Dongmakgol), the film built its fanbase through acting, an interesting story and intelligent marketing, since it didn't have box office draws to take advantage of, nor the chance to stretch its release to 500 screens like other films. There's a craze in Korea about this film right now, making young Lee Joon-Gi a star overnight. Gam Woo-Sung and Jung Jin-Young, excellent actors who built a career out of impressive supporting roles but never experienced the huge hit, have become top stars, just like Jung Jae-Young in 'Dongmakgol'. And, last but not least, Lee Joon-Ik finally paid off his debt, and has become a model to follow in the industry, spending very little and achieving a lot more than expected.

The film sold 1.2 Million tickets during the four days of the Lunar New Year holidays, enjoying a 92 screens release in Seoul (399 nationwide) which brought in 252,000 tickets for a weekend nationwide total of 830,000. Of course there were many more viewers than usual thanks to the holidays, but the fact this film beat even Kwak Kyung-Taek's 친구 (Friend) and its 8.18 Million tickets in just over a month is incredible. Yes, the film, now at 8.2 Million tickets, has become one of the top 3 most successful Korean films of all time, and it continues to run. Its run is faster than that of 실미도 (Silmido), which sold 11 Million tickets in early 2004, and about as fast as Kang Je-Gyu's 태극기 휘날리며 (Taegukgi), still holding the top spot. Kang Woo-Suk's film, starring Seol Kyung-Gu and Ahn Sung-Gi, hit 7.66 Million by the Lunar New Year holidays in 2004, almost 600,000 less than 'The King and The Clown', and although 'Taegukgi' sold 9 Million in the same 5 weeks, we're not too far off. The per-screen average is still well over 2,000, pre-order sales still around the 30%, and the word still spreading. Looking at competition, the first big obstacle for the film will be Memoirs of a Geisha on February 2, and (hopefully) Kim Soo-Ro's first ever leading role in 흡혈형사 나도열 (Vampire Cop Ricky) on February 9, but they don't strike me as films which could slow down the top dog that much. So, are we about to witness the most successful box office run of all time in Korean Cinema?

But clowns weren't the only things Korean viewers watched over the holidays, as gangsters going back to school always seem to make good money. A sequel of the 2001 comedy 두사부일체 (My Boss, My Hero), Kim Dong-Won's 투사부일체 (My Boss, My Teacher) brings back the Jung trio for another round of jopok shenanigans. Although the film seems to be more on the 'crap' side and less on the 'entertaining' (at least judging the almost unanimously negative reviews), unlike 가문의 위기 (Marrying The Mafia 2: Enemy in Law), viewers are still watching it in droves, proving the drawing power of Jung Joon-Ho can do wonders if used well. The film sold 243,000 tickets in Seoul over the weekend, over a Million nationwide, and it has already reached the 4 Million tickets, in less than two weeks. Although it's impossible to predict how far it will go, I'd expect numbers similar to the 'Mafia' series, around the 6 Million.

The biggest disappointment of the week was Chen Kaige's 無極 (The Promise), which had a lot of potential thanks to Jang Dong-Gun's drawing power, but failed to leave first gear. With a decent, 250-screen release nationwide, the drama sold 75,000 tickets in Seoul for a nationwide total of 270,000 over the holidays. Its total so far is nearing the 500,000, which is certainly not bad, but probably a lot less than what Show East expected. After solving its problems with CJ CGV, the action drama 홀리데이 (Holiday) had a good second week on release. Screens are more or less the same, and although there's no way it can hold up to the Top 3, it has already reached the 800,000 tickets, and a 2 Million score could be a possibility. Disney's latest animation Chicken Little had a decent opening with 250,000 tickets, but its future prospects look pretty bleak, and 야수 (Running Wild) failed to reach the Million tickets, for what looks like the last week on release. As expected, Chu Chang-Min's 사랑을 놓치다 (Lost in Love) didn't do too well, despite the top cast. Reviews weren't particularly negative, but not too positive either, which shows Seol Kyung-Gu only seems to draw when he stars in very masculine films, as all the melodramas he starred in, except Lee Chang-Dong's 오아시스 (Oasis) (if you want to call it melodrama) had a hard time at the box office. Doesn't seem like it'll do much noise in the coming weeks, but reaching the Million tickets shouldn't be too hard.

Box Office Top 10 - Lunar New Year Holidays - January 27/30

1.
왕의 남자 (The King and The Clown)
2005 KOREA - dir. Lee Joon-Ik [Cast: Gam Woo-Sung, Jung Jin-Young]
Distributed By Cinema Service - 33.1% (+0.5%) Share - 2,739 Per Screen Avg. - 399 Screens (+25)
8,206,400 Tickets Sold Nationwide

2.
투사부일체 (My Boss, My Teacher)
2006 KOREA - dir. Kim Dong-Won [Cast: Jung Joon-Ho, Kim Sang-Joong]
Distributed By CJ Entertainment - 30.9% (-9.0%) Share - 2,557 Per Screen Avg. - 481 Screens (+31)
4,028,000 Tickets Sold Nationwide

3.
無極 (The Promise)
2005 CHINA - dir. Chen Kaige [Cast: Jang Dong-Gun, Cecilia Cheung]
Distributed By Show East - 9.9% (New) Share - 1,515 Per Screen Avg. - 250 Screens (New)
486,726 Tickets Sold Nationwide

4.

홀리데이 (Holiday)
2006 KOREA - dir. Yang Yoon-Ho [Cast: Choi Min-Soo, Lee Sung-Jae]
Distributed By Lotte Entertainment - 8.3% (-0.5%) Share - 1,519 Per Screen Avg. - 218 Screens (-2)
815,000 Tickets Sold Nationwide

5.
사랑을 놓치다 (Lost in Love)
2006 KOREA - dir. Chu Chang-Min [Cast: Seol Kyung-Gu, Song Yoon-Ah]
Distributed By Cinema Service - 6.1% (New) Share - 1,065 Per Screen Avg. - 186 Screens (New)
250,000 Tickets Sold Nationwide

6.
Chicken Little
2005 USA - dir. Mark Dindal [Voices: Patrick Stewart, Joan Cusack]
Distributed By Disney - 5.8% (New) Share - 873 Per Screen Avg. - 216 Screens (New)
290,000 Tickets Sold Nationwide

7.
야수 (Running Wild)
2006 KOREA - dir. Kim Sung-Soo [Cast: Kwon Sang-Woo, Yoo Ji-Tae]
Distributed By Showbox - 1.2% (-3.2%) Share - 320 Per Screen Avg. - 111 Screens (-155)
995,025 Tickets Sold Nationwide

8.
The Polar Express
2004 USA - dir. Robert Zemeckis [Cast: Tom Hanks, Leslie Zemeckis]
Distributed By Warner Brothers Korea - 0.8% (=) Share - 6,500 Per Screen Avg. (IMAX) - 2 Screens (New)
33,500 Tickets Sold Nationwide

9.
Two Brothers
2004 FRANCE/UK - dir. Jean-Jacques Annaud [Cast: Guy Pearce, Jean-Claude Dreyfus]
Distributed By CJ Entertainment - 0.8% (-1.9%) Share - 457 Per Screen Avg. - 48 Screens (-54)
133,806 Tickets Sold Nationwide

10.
King Kong
2005 NZ/USA - dir. Peter Jackson [Cast: Jack Black, Naomi Watts]
Distributed By UIP - 0.8% (-2.6%) Share - 688 Per Screen Avg. - 45 Screens (-110)
4,185,000 Tickets Sold Nationwide

2006 Box Office Top 6 (Korean Films)

01. 투사부일체 (My Boss, My Teacher) - 4,028,000
02. 싸움의 기술 (The Art of Fighting) - 1,273,000
03. 야수 (Running Wild) - 995,025
04. 홀리데이 (Holiday) - 815,000
05. 사랑을 놓치다 (Lost in Love) - 250,000
05. 다섯개의 시선 (If You Were Me 2) - 4,500

2005 Box Office Top 10 (Korean Films)

01. 왕의 남자 (The King and The Clown) - 8,206,400
02. 웰컴 투 동막골 (Welcome To Dongmakgol) - 8,002,594
03. 가문의 위기 (Marrying The Mafia 2) - 5,663,000
04. 말아톤 (Marathon) - 5,179,154
05. 태풍 (Typhoon) - 4,180,000
06. 공공의 적 2 (Another Public Enemy) - 3,910,000
07. 친절한 금자씨 (Sympathy For Lady Vengeance) - 3,560,000
08. 너는 내 운명 (You Are My Sunshine) - 3,070,000
09. 마파도 (Mapado) - 3,020,000
10. 내 생애 가장 아름다운 일주일 (All For Love) - 2,545,000

All Time Box Office Top 20 (Korean Films)

01. 태극기 휘날리며 (Taegukgi) - 11,746,135 [2004]
02. 실미도 (Silmido) - 11,074,000 [2003]
03. 왕의 남자 (The King and The Clown) - 8,206,400 [2005]
04. 친구 (Friend) - 8,180,000 [2001]
05. 웰컴 투 동막골 (Welcome To Dongmakgol) - 8,002,594 [2005]
06. 쉬리 (Shiri) - 6,210,000 [1999]
07. 공동경비구역 JSA (Joint Security Area) - 5,830,000 [2000]
08. 가문의 위기 (Marrying The Mafia 2) - 5,663,000 [2005]
09. 조폭 마누라 (My Wife is a Gangster) - 5,250,000 [2001]
10. 가문의 영광 (Marrying the Mafia) - 5,200,001 [2002]
11. 말아톤 (Marathon) - 5,148,022 [2005]
12. 살인의 추억 (Memories of Murder) - 5,120,000 [2003]
13. 엽기적인 그녀 (My Sassy Girl) - 4,841,500 [2001]
14. 동갑내기 과외하기 (My Tutor Friend) - 4,810,000 [2003]
15. 신라의 달밤 (Kick The Moon) - 4,353,800 [2001]
16. 태풍 (Typhoon) - 4,180,000 [2005]
17. 집으로 (The Way Home) - 4,091,000 [2002]
18. 색즉시공 (Sex is Zero) - 4,089,900 [2002]
19. 투사부일체 (My Boss, My Teacher) - 4,028,000 [2006]
20. 공공의 적 2 (Another Public Enemy) - 3,911,356 [2005]

[Sources: nKino, Yonhap News, Film2.0]