According to the Korea Times, the number of commercial films scheduled to hit theaters in 2025 and 2026 is expected to drop significantly, raising concerns that the Korean film industry is in crisis.
"Major investment and distribution companies are barely considering new projects. In my 25 years in the film industry, this is the first time both planning and production have completely stopped," the Korean newspaper quoted.
Accordingly, there are 5 largest film investment and distribution companies in Korea (CJ ENM, Showbox, Lotte Entertainment, NEW and Plus M Entertainment) but only about 10 films are in production or pre-production.
With a film typically taking about two years to produce, it is expected that only about 10 Korean films will be released by these major companies by 2025.
Film industry in trouble
Among the five investment and distribution companies in Korea, CJ ENM is considered to be in a bad situation.
Currently, the company only has two films in production, which are Park Chan Wook's new project "It Can't Be Helped" which started filming on August 17 and "Pretty Crazy" which is in post-production.
The dismal box office performance of big-budget films such as "Alienoid 1" (2022), "The Moon" (2023), "Escape: Project Silence" (2024), has had a significant impact on the company.
According to the Korean Film Council's 2023 Korean Film Industry Report, CJ ENM released eight Korean films last year. But new investments in films are expected to be halted in the near future.
"There are currently no films in pre-production. Although we have not confirmed any investment, we are considering a number of projects," said a CJ ENM representative.
Meanwhile, Showbox has three films in production, and NEW has two. Last year, Showbox and NEW distributed three and 13 Korean films, respectively (not including films distributed on behalf of other companies).
Plus M Entertainment is investing heavily in new films, as it took the top spot in Korean film distribution for the first time in 2023, with more than 10 million admissions for both "12.12: The Day" and "The Roundup: No Way Out."
While Showbox, which attracted 11.91 million views with "Exhuma," is cautiously approaching new film investments.
The new direction is not very promising.
According to a report on August 16 by the Korean Film Council (KOFIC), there are 27 films preparing for release, 49 films in post-production, and 26 films in production.
Of these 102 films, only about 50 can be classified as commercial films.
According to the media, not only are large companies tightening their purse strings, but small investment and distribution companies have also decided to gradually withdraw from the commercial film business and focus on television production.
Although considered a turning point at a time when funding for films is running out, the Korean television drama market has not been promising for many years.
For example, in 2024, there were only a few outstanding TV series such as "You Go Marry My Husband", "Queen of Tears", "Run on My Back"...
