Coronavirus scares away moviegoers; theaters in emergency mode to survive

Posters for the black and white version of “Parasite” and the new thriller film “Time to Hunt.” More film premieres are being postponed due to the coronavirus spread. Courtesy of CJ ENM and LittleBig Pictures

By Lee Gyu-lee

Korean cinema is bearing the brunt of the fallout from the coronavirus epidemic.

Films, on weekdays and weekends alike, are screened with most seats unoccupied ― only 3.5 of 100 seats for top 10 movies are occupied on average, according to the Korea Film Council.

Amid fears of infection, distributors have canceled or postponed the release of new ones, even the black and white version of the Oscar-winning “Parasite.”

With the epidemic expected to continue through March or even longer, major theaters have declared a state of emergency, curtailing available screens and screen time, granting employees unpaid leave for a month or so, and slashing salaries temporarily in a desperate effort to save money.

Affected films

Two films ― the black and white version of “Parasite” and the thriller “Time to Hunt” ― canceled their original release dates set for Wednesday. No future dates have been announced.

The March 5 premiere of “Innocence” ― which features actress Shin Hye-sun's first lead debut on the silver screen ― has been delayed.

The film's distributor Sony Pictures Korea said earlier this week it has canceled any media events and screening of the film, as well as its original release date. An alternative date has not been announced.

Other films with March premieres ― the female-led thriller “Call,” Pixar's “Onward” and the heartfelt documentary “The Wandering Chef” ― have had their release dates delayed by at least a month.

The distributors are cautious about setting an exact date as the spread of the virus continues and uncertainty remains over its further effect.

A scene from the science-fiction thriller “The Invisible Man”/ Courtesy of Universal Pictures

Some films did manage to release as planned, such as Universal's thriller “The Invisible Man,” and Guy Ritchie's new action movie “The Gentlemen.”

Both films hit theaters Wednesday and “The Invisible Man” notched top spot at the local box office. But sales were disappointing, with a little over 26,000 tickets sold.

Daily ticket sales drastically dropped to below 80,000 on Monday, the day that 231 new coronavirus cases were reported. This is the lowest ticket sales since the Korean Film Council started collecting daily data in 2011.

Although sales rose to 130,000 on Wednesday, the opening-day sales of “The Invisible Man” were just over a third the previous week's box office top film “Beasts Clawing at Straws.”