Lee Gyu-lee is a business writer at The Korea Times, focusing primarily on IT & telecommunications, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and KOTRA. Prior to this, she has covered a wide range of cultural news, from film, television and K-pop to lifestyle and fashion.
Weekend box office sales plunge to new low
Ticket sales over the weekend, April 11-12, totaled about 79,000, the lowest weekend figure since 2004. Yonhap
By Lee Gyu-lee
By Lee Gyu-lee
Despite the falling number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Korea, ticket sales continued to suffer, hitting the lowest weekend figure since 2004.
Sales over the weekend, April 11-12, totaled about 79,000 tickets ― 42,000 for Saturday and 39,700 for Sunday.
It is the first time weekend box office sales saw below 80,000 in 16 years, according to Korean Film Council's data.
Since the coronavirus cases spiked worldwide, the premieres for many big-budget films have been canceled, including Disney's “Mulan” and the latest James Bond movie “No Time to Die.”
Among those left in the box office, the war film “1917” took the top spot on the weekend chart with about 14,400 tickets. The film has earned 6.9 billion won ($5.7 million) since its release on Feb. 19.
Opening on April 1, action film “Ip Man4: The finale” slipped to the second with 10,500 tickets, grossing 470 million won ($385,000).
In an effort to revive falling sales, movie theaters have been screening past hit films such as “La La Land” (2016) and “About Time” (2013).
Superhero franchise films, including the “Avengers” series, are also set to reopen in later in the month.