According to the Korea Times, the Mid-Autumn Festival is a golden time for the Korean film industry, as distributors often release large-scale films with the participation of many stars to attract a large audience.
However, this year's Mid-Autumn Festival (which took place on September 17) did not have many big-budget films shown, except for the action-crime film "I, the Executioner" - the sequel to the 2015 hit "Veteran".
This is in contrast to last year when there were three blockbuster films released, including: “Coweb” starring Cannes award-winning actor Song Kang Ho, “Dr. Cheon and the Lost Talisman” by Kang Dong Won and “Road to Boston” by Im Siwan.
Released by CJ ENM, “I bet you can handcuff me” stars Hwang Jung Min - the “box office king” in Korea and the handsome rising actor - Jung Hae In. The film revolves around the journey of chasing criminals of the police duo - Seo Do Chul and Park Sun Woo.
According to Korean newspapers, the reason other distributors in Korea decided not to release their films during this Mid-Autumn Festival is to avoid competing with “I bet you can’t handcuff me” - a film that has had a large fan base since its first part, attracting 13.41 million views.
In addition, the film was invited to attend the Midnight Screening program at the 77th Cannes Film Festival in May, along with many positive responses from experts, further increasing the audience's expectations.
Another reason distributors are hesitant to release new movies during the holidays is because audiences today pay less attention to big-budget films, instead exploring more genres than before through online platforms.
“In Korea, the culture of going to the cinema with family or friends during the Chuseok or Lunar New Year holidays to watch big-budget films is gradually fading. With so many online entertainment platforms available today, more and more people are choosing to watch films of various genres that suit their personal preferences,” the Korean newspaper quoted.
This is also considered a new difficulty for the country's film industry. Previously, the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) reported that the total number of moviegoers in August was 11.8 million, down 2.8 million from August last year. This is also a decrease of 250,000 compared to July this year.
Accordingly, the only film that attracted Korean audiences to the theater was “Pilot” starring Jo Jung Suk. The film was released on July 31 in Korea and attracted more than 4.5 million views.
