March, a slow month for ticket sales generally in Korea, marked one of the weakest months for Korean box office share since December of 2004. The domestic market share dropped to 21.6% last month, raising concerns in the wake of last year's reduction of the Screen Quota system which guarantees screen time for local fare. March saw tough competition from Hollywood with films 300, Music and Lyrics and Perfume: The Story of a Murderer dominating screens.
April is showing signs of a come-back with local films "The Show Must Go on", "Small Town Rivals" and most recently "Paradise Murdered" ("Paradise 1986") opening in the top position for nationwide box office sales. "Small Town Rivals" has performed best overall, with, as of April 15th, over 1.2 million tickets sold since its opening on March 29th. Mid-April numbers show domestic market share back up to previous levels at a healthy 56% according to KOFIC statistics which monitor 93% of nationwide ticket sales.
Local companies are showing reluctance to invest in big budget productions after disappointing domestic revenue for several highly hyped films last year including "Blue Swallow", "Typhoon", and "The Restless". A schedule of hotly anticipated Hollywood blockbuster sequels are lined-up for release in Korea this summer. Among them Spider-Man 3 (May 4), Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (May 23), Shrek 3 (June 6), Ocean's Thirteen (June 7), Die Hard 4.0 (June 28), Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (July 12), and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (July 26) will make for a highly competitive spring-summer season.
Korean distributors are carefully timing the releases of their highest profile films, such as costume-drama "HwangJin-y - Movie 2007" by Jang Yoon-hyeon to be released June 3rd, and "May 18", based on the tragic events surrounding the 1980 Gwangju Uprising, to be released by CJ Entertainment in July. Smaller-scale but also highly anticipated films include Lee Chang-dong's Cannes competitor "Secret Sunshine" (May 17th) and kwak Jae-Yong's "My Mighty Princess", slated for summer release. A slew of bone-chilling horror films to beat the summer heat, are also to be expected.
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