Kwak Yeon-soo is a digital editor at The Korea Times creating, editing and curating digital content for the newspaper’s website, mobile app and social media. She previously covered a diverse array of cultural, political and business topics.
Major film releases delayed again as COVID-19 resurges
Liu Yifei in “Mulan” / Courtesy of Walt Disney Co. Korea
By Kwak Yeon-soo
By Kwak Yeon-soo
Many major film releases have been pushed back again due to a resurgence of COVID-19 in Korea.
The country has reported three-digit figures on new infection cases for the past 15 days, with the latest new infection case number released on Friday reaching 371.
The government raised the social distancing guidelines to Level 2 on Sunday, and is cautiously reviewing the situation to raise them to Level 3.
Level 2 bans indoor gatherings of more than 50 and outdoor gatherings of more than 100, in comparison with Level 3 that bans gatherings of 10 people or more except for essential meetings for business and state affairs.
The release of “Mulan” has been delayed to Sept. 17 from Sept. 10. Originally scheduled to hit the screens in March, the live-action remake of the 1998 animated film has been delayed four times.
“Given the country's COVID-19 situation, we have decided to delay the release of Mulan. We ask for everyone's understanding,” distributor Walt Disney Co. Korea said in a news release.
The film tells a story of legendary Chinese warrior Hua Mulan ― a fearless female warrior who disguises herself as a man to join the army in place of her ailing father.
Walt Disney Korea also announced delaying the release of “The King's Man” from September to the first half of next year.
“The New Mutants,” a film spun out of the “X-Men” franchise, was originally set to premiere on Sept. 3 but has been pushed back to Sept. 10.
Domestic films also shifted their original opening schedules for this fall.
Song Joong-ki, center, and Kim Tae-ri, left, in “Space Sweepers” / Courtesy of Merry Christmas
Distributor Merry Christmas said it was delaying the premiere of the sci-fi blockbuster “Space Sweepers,” which was originally scheduled to hit screens Sept. 23. The company did not elaborate on a new release date.
“Space Sweepers,” starring Song Joong-ki and Kim Tae-ri, a big-budget domestic film was expected to be released in cinemas around Chuseok holidays in September. Set in 2092, the film revolves around the crew of The Victory, who have been searching for lucrative space debris.
“Although Space Sweepers was set to premiere on Sept. 23, it has been postponed indefinitely. We will announce the new release date after monitoring the situation,” the distributor said in a news release.
“Beauty Water,” a local animated film originally set to premiere on Sept. 2, announced the release would be postponed. A new date has not been set.
The horror-thriller animated film centers on a girl who tries to keep up with beauty standards and improver her socioeconomic standing by undergoing plastic surgery.
CGV Arthouse, distributor of comedy “Oh! My Gran,” decided to hold a media screening on Aug. 31 as planned but canceled a press conference initially scheduled for after the screening.
“As the social distancing level is raised and concern about infection clusters across the country continue to pile up, we decided to call off the press conference,” it said.