The end of the year is usually the time when the Korean box office releases many blockbusters. This year, due to the "clash" with the survival series "Squid Game 2", many Korean films had to change their release dates earlier than expected.
Currently, in addition to "Moana 2", there are 3 movies showing at the Korean box office: "Firefighters" (Joo Won), "One Win" (Song Kang Ho) and "About Family" (Lee Seung Gi, Kim Yun Seok).
However, contrary to expectations, the number of moviegoers during this period at the theaters is decreasing. According to data from the Korean Film Council (KOFIC), the number of moviegoers from December 1 to December 14 was recorded at 4.97 million, down 21% compared to the same period last year.
Although the exact cause has not been determined, the possibility of it being related to South Korea's recent political crisis is high, the Korea Times said.
Because there are still two movies waiting to be released in theaters, "Harbin" (Hyun Bin/Hwang Jung Min/Lee Dong Wook) and "Bogota: City of the Lost" (Song Joong Ki), the media still hopes that the country's box office will soon recover.
According to KOFIC data on December 16, "Harbin" is topping the pre-order chart with 110,887 ticket bookings and revenue of 1.1 billion won (19.4 billion VND), even though there are still 8 days left until the release date of December 24.
The film revolves around the story of Ahn Jung Geun (Hyun Bin), an activist determined to gain independence. In addition to positive reviews about the plot and Hyun Bin's efforts to change his appearance, the fact that the film was filmed in Latvia, Mongolia and South Korea also scored points.
Meanwhile, the movie "Bogota: City of the Lost" (released on December 31) tells the journey of Guk Hee (Song Joong Ki) - who escaped with his family to Bogota, Colombia after Korea received an IMF bailout in 1997.
Although SMCP once rated the film as "terrible" in terms of script and acting, Song Joong Ki personally is eagerly waiting for the day the film is released in theaters. Meanwhile, Korea Times also believes that there is still a possibility that "Bogota: City of the Lost" will attract a large audience by the end of the year.
The reason is that in addition to the crew's efforts (the film's filming and release schedule were delayed many times due to the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic), Song Joong Ki's careful preparation, including learning Spanish, or the film's theme - about responsibility towards others - was also mentioned by Korean newspapers.
However, it is still impossible to rule out the possibility that the two works mentioned above will be "cold-shouldered" at the box office because the setting, content, and actual acting are different from what the crew is introducing. This is happening with "One Win" - the new film of "Emperor" Song Kang Ho.
