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Moviegoers Continue to Shun Theaters Amid COVID-19 Fears

More and more people are shunning movie theaters as the coronavirus epidemic drags on.

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According to the Korean Film Council, the number of moviegoers stood at some 42,630 last Saturday, down 31.1 percent from a week earlier. It is the first time the figure dropped below 50,000 since the relevant data began to be compiled in 2004. Normally, Saturday is the peak day of the week in terms of cinema attendance.

Even last week's most popular film, "Ip Man 4: The Finale" was unable to draw more than 10,000 people, as it attracted only 8,288 viewers, followed by Sam Mendes' war epic "1917" (5,683) and "Judy", a biographical film on legendary performer Judy Garland's life (5,010).

A staffer at cinema chain CJ CGV said, "We just managed to see about 110,000 moviegoers over the weekend, but it is expected to drop further this week".

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