Korean Box Office Enters the New Year

The Korean box office closed the book on another troubled pandemic year filled with mixed returns as the country grappled with different waves of COVID infections and varying levels of social distancing restrictions. Yet despite COVID cases hitting new peaks toward the end of the year, theaters drummed up a strong business in December, largely thanks to the biggest hit of the pandemic to date.

2022 begins with some of that momentum still intact, as 1.1 million tickets were sold over the New Year’s Day weekend. A new domestic release pushed up the local market share significantly, but it still remained stubbornly low at 11%.

Swinging into first place for the third time running was the pandemic smash Spider-Man: No Way Home. Down just 46%, the comic book tentpole added another 706,000 viewers (USD 6.08 million), to push its total to a stellar 6.07 million admissions (USD 51.29 million), far and away from the best total of 2021 and the whole pandemic era to date.

Still in second place after a strong 27% hold was the spy action prequel The King’s Man. The film secured another 209,000 entries (USD 1.8 million) over the weekend, lifting its haul to 776,000 sales (USD 6.51 million) over its first 12 days.

Debuting in third place was the star-studded local romantic omnibus A YEAR-END MEDLEY. The film debuted with 114,000 spectators (USD 948,000) over the weekend and filled 186,000 seats (USD 1.49 million) over its first five days. Though not a particularly large number, the film was always designed to be an original feature for the streaming services TVING, where it debuted day and date, giving viewers the option to watch it at home or in theaters.

The sci-fi sequel The Matrix: Resurrections continued to struggle at the Korean box office after experiencing a hefty 82% fall. The weekend saw it add 18,000 viewers (USD 148,000) to its total, which has now reached 203,000 entries (USD 1.71 million).

Still, a presence on the charts was the Disney animation Encanto, which slid 56% and one spot. Adding 9,000 sales (USD 70,000) over the weekend, the film has amassed 627,000 admissions (USD 5 million).

The first box office battle of the year will see Spider-Man attempt to retain its crown for a fourth straight weekend, as it goes up against two new releases - the crime drama The Policeman’s Lineage, the first Korean release of the year, and the animated sequel Sing 2.