Korean Box Office Report - February 24/26

Mixing comedy, action, the lavish production design and historical background of Sageuk, this new brand of Historical Dramas show a distinct change compared to their older 'ancestors': ever since Lee Joon-Ik's 황산벌 (Once Upon a Time in The Battlefield) and Lee Jae-Yong's 스캔들 (Untold Scandal), the focus has moved from palace intrigue to something the average Korean can relate to: the struggle of average people (no matter if noble literati or commoners) to find a voice in an era dominated by a limited group of 'families'. Painting a sarcastic portrait of historical figures, be it the allegory of regionalism using the Three Kingdoms as a launching pad, or the romantic escapades of 'Joseon Casanova' like in 'Untold Scandal', Fusion Drama take off a lot of the posturing and politics which made the genre hard to digest for younger viewers.

And by going back in time, this new genre speaks to the local population but also in some ways opens itself to International acceptance. Or at least does so in much more accessible ways than fantastic works like 영원한 제국 (The Eternal Empire), perhaps a little too meaty to travel. By getting closer to people, Sageuk has transformed itself into a whole different monster, combining elements of popular genres from past generations to attract a larger, more diverse portion of viewers than other films: the local, dialogue and ad-lib based comedy of the '조폭 (jopok, gangster) craze', the eroticism of 80s sexy melodramas (albeit in much more... tasteful ways), lavish production values and all the elements which make Sageuk so appealing.

We're witnessing an interesting period in Korean Cinema. While the Western media has taken an interest in Lee Joon-Ik's 왕의 남자 (The King and The Clown) for its homosexual undertones (valid argument, mind you, as a big reason why Lee Joon-Gi has become so popular is because of this 'cross-sexual' craze in fashion and culture), I'd say the real issue here is the Fusion Drama as an event. 'The King and The Clown' and its 11+ Million tickets has become like the World Cup, something which unites viewers from all ages, be it teenagers who usually watch romcoms to elder citizens who come to theaters twice a year. Although the quality of the film itself is a big reason for such a success, this is the first huge Korean hit not dealing with the North/South Divide or gangsters (funny or not). So why is it so popular? Because its 'patriotic' elements are far removed from the political sphere, and go back to basics, just like the World Cup: they make people feel 'proud' about themselves, they give them a sense of catharsis and happiness without resorting to 독도는 우리 땅! (Dokdo is our land) t-shirts or cries against Historical distortion. Just like the Red Devils... giving you a surge of emotions, without necessarily having to bring meaty political issues in the mix. Although 'Battlefield' only sold 2 Million tickets or so, it was the beginning of a new trend, which found its apex in 'The King and The Clown' and its rapturous popularity, and which continues with 음란서생 (Forbidden Quest), another Fusion Drama which seems to be paving the way for a very successful run.

Directed by first timer Kim Dae-Woo, who wrote 'Untold Scandal' and also had an acquaintance with feel good comedies, after helping write the script for Kim Ji-Woon's glorious 2000 comedy 반칙왕 (The Foul King), 'Forbidden Quest' had a tremendous opening weekend, thanks to its impressive release (440 screens nationwide) and pre-order sales around the 60%. In four days the film sold 224,000 tickets in Seoul alone, 717,000 nationwide for a total of 878,000. Just like in the clowns' case, the biggest driving force behind the initial success of the film, starring Han Suk-Gyu and Lee Beom-Soo, has been word of mouth. And while the secret of 'The King and The Clown's success was focusing on the willpower of clowns like Jang-Saeng to do something with their life, in similar ways to what 'Once Upon a Time in the Battlefield' did (being directed by the same person the biggest reason for this similarity), 'Quest' borrows a page from 'Untold Scandal' (again, written by the same person) and uses eroticism and tasteful sexuality mixed with hilarious comedy (from ad-lib masters like Oh Dal-Soo), enough to seduce younger viewers, but not vulgar enough to turn off older ones. The film should double its opening weekend next week, and my first estimate of 3-3.5 Million tickets shouldn't be too much of a stretch. It all depends on whether the film is able to attract repeated viewings, like in the clowns' case. Then this might seriously become a big hit.

Lee Joon-Ik's shocker isn't doing 'too bad' either. We're now a few days away from the top of the mountain, after the film sold 68,000 tickets over the weekend in Seoul, for a nationwide total of almost 11.5 Million tickets. The top grossing Korean film of all time, Kang Je-Gyu's 태극기 휘날리며 (Taegukgi) is a mere 300,000 tickets away, and considering the film is still enjoying a release of over 200 nationwide screens, and still holds second place after two months on release, we're not too far off a new record. But although the 'countdown to history' made the news all week long, the media focused on a little scandal involving the film. Yoon Young-Seon, a playwright and professor at the Korean National University of Arts, went to court complaining the film plagiarizes dialogue from his 1996 play 키스 (Kiss).

Now, as you probably know, 'The King and The Clown' was adapted from a 2000 play by Kim Tae-Woong entitled 이 (Yi), and Kim said he used the lines in question as an homage to Yoon's work. He and the company said they inquired about the use of such lines in the film with Yoon before, so it's very unlikely Yoon's request to ban the film from screening (and further broadcasts, home video, you know the deal) will register more than a blip with the court. What's funny is the timing involved in all this: intellectual property is very important, and defending it is a right people like Yoon deserve to have. But why complain NOW, and not when the film started screening two months ago? Obvious: your play will get some rub from the film and possibly resurface, and you'll probably get a hefty sum/compensation in exchange for dropping the suit. Would Professor Yoon have done this if 'The King and The Clown' didn't become so popular? That's something only he knows. I don't know about his skills in the theater world, but he sure showed a lot of acumen in throwing a finger in the pot right when it was boiling. That finger must hurt a lot now....

But Historical Dramas weren't the only films screening this week, as comedy continues to make a big impact on the box office. Trashed left and right by just about the entire Korean media, the Shin Yi/Choi Sung-Guk comedy 구세주 (Oh! My God) had another very respectable week, hitting break even point (which was set at 1 Million tickets), after selling 62,000 tickets over the weekend in Seoul (30,000 less than last weekend, but still quite good). The key here is the film's performance in the 지방 (Jibang) the area outside the capital), as the film did even better than 'The King and The Clown' there. This is just a repeat of last year's situation, with local comedies doing extremely well outside Seoul, despite losing momentum in the capital. In a recent survey by KOBIS, although Seoul still holds over 30% of the theatergoing population, cities like Busan (9%), Daegu (7%), Daejeon (4%) and the rest of Gyeonggi Province (over 20%) show this 'Jibang wave' is not something to overlook. Many low-budget comedies with familiar faces are slated to debut in the next 12 months, as a reaction to this increasingly changing landscape in the country's film market. So while the capital might go for 'well made', comedies are still an important factor outside Seoul.

Another good week for Kim Soo-Ro's vampire comedy 흡혈형사 나도열 (Vampire Cop Ricky), which passed the 1.5 Million mark, and looks headed for a pretty comfortable final few weeks, probably between the 2 and 2.5 Million. Also, although it was expected given the lack of star power, the black comedy 손님은 왕이다 (The Customer is Always Right) had a pretty underwhelming first weekend, with only 90,000 tickets. Despite being well received, Myung Gye-Nam's slightly controversial political involvement made him an unlikely leading choice, and although this looks to be one of the most interesting Korean films on release right now, it's not likely it'll do much noise in the coming weeks. Coming this week is the acclaimed Brokeback Mountain, the HK hit 頭文字 D (Initial D) and the Jessica Alba thriller Paranoid.

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Box Office - February 17/19
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1.
음란서생 (Forbidden Quest)
2006 KOREA - dir. Kim Dae-Woo [Cast: Han Suk-Gyu, Lee Beom-Soo]
Distributed By CJ Entertainment - 41.2% (New) Share - 2,357 Per Screen Avg. - 440 Screens (New)
878,000 Tickets Sold Nationwide

2
왕의 남자 (The King and The Clown)
2005 KOREA - dir. Lee Joon-Ik [Cast: Gam Woo-Sung, Jung Jin-Young]
Distributed By Cinema Service - 12.8% (-7.7%) Share - 1,992 Per Screen Avg. - 216 Screens (-54)
11,445,412 Tickets Sold Nationwide

3.
구세주 (Oh! My God)
2006 KOREA - dir.Kim Jung-Woo [Cast: Shin Yi, Choi Sung-Guk]
Distributed By Show East - 11.6% (-5.8%) Share - 1,386 Per Screen Avg. - 228 Screens (-24)
1,110,000 Tickets Sold Nationwide

4.
Underworld 2: Evolution
2005 USA - dir. Len Wiseman [Cast: Kate Beckinsale, Scoot Speedman]
Distributed By Showbox - 8.6% (New) Share - 1,537 Per Screen Avg. - 140 Screens (New)
185,069 Tickets Sold Nationwide

5.
흡혈형사 나도열 (Vampire Cop Ricky)
2006 KOREA - dir. Lee Si-Myung [Cast: Kim Soo-Ro, Son Byung-Ho]
Distributed By Showbox - 6.1% (-7.4%) Share - 715 Per Screen Avg. - 213 Screens (-67)
1,619,557 Tickets Sold Nationwide

6.
손님은 왕이다 (The Customer is Always Right)
2006 KOREA - dir. Oh Gi-Hyun [Cast: Sung Ji-Roo, Myung Gye-Nam]
Distributed By Cinema Service - 4.8% (New) Share - 604 Per Screen Avg. - 186 Screens (New)
91,000 Tickets Sold Nationwide

7.
Saw 2
2005 USA - dir. Darren Bousman [Cast: Donnie Wahlberg, Shawnee Smith]
Distributed By Mirovision - 3.6% (-6.1%) Share - 846 Per Screen Avg. - 103 Screens (-22)
307,831 Tickets Sold Nationwide

8.
あらしのよるに (Stormy Night)
2005 JAPAN - dir. Sugii Gisaburo [Voices: Takeuchi Riki, Narimiya Hiroki]
Distributed By MK Pictures - 1.9% (-0.3%) Share - 854 Per Screen Avg. - 68 Screens (=)
154,000 Tickets Sold Nationwide

9.
Firewall
2005 USA - dir. Richard Loncraine [Cast: Harrison Ford, Paul Bettany]
Distributed by Warner - 1.4% (-5.1%) Share - 288 Per Screen Avg. - 64 Screens (-49)
165,100 Tickets Sold Nationwide

10.
メゾン ド ヒミコ (Maison De Himiko)
2005 JAPAN - dir Inudo Isshin [Cast: Odagiri Jo, Shibasaki Kou]
Distributed By Sponge - 0.7% Share - 1,262 Per Screen Avg.
58,746 Tickets Sold Nationwide

xx.
투사부일체 (My Boss, My Teacher)
2006 KOREA - dir. Kim Dong-Won [Cast: Jung Joon-Ho, Kim Sang-Joong]
Distributed By CJ Entertainment - 61 Screens (-141)
6,080,000 Tickets Sold Nationwide

xx.
눈부신 하루 (One Shining Day)
2006 KOREA - dir. Kim Sung-Ho/Min Dong-Hyun/Kim Jong-Gwan [Cast: Lee So-Yeon, Mori Yukie]
Distributed By Indiestory - 2 Screens
566 Tickets Sold Nationwide

xx.
달려라 장미 (Way To Go, Rose)
2006 KOREA - dir. Kim Eung-Soo [Cast: Choi Ban-Ya, Kim Tae-Hoon]
Distributed By Emotions Pictures - 1 Screen
397 Tickets Sold Nationwide

xx.
신성일의 행방불명 (Shin Sung-Il Is Lost)
2006 KOREA - dir. Shin Jane [Cast: Jo Hyung-Shik, Ye Soo-Jung]
Distributed By Sponge - 3 Screens
961 Tickets Sold Nationwide

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2006 Box Office Top 10 (Korean Films)
===========================

01. 투사부일체 (My Boss, My Teacher) - 6,080,000
02. 흡혈형사 나도열 (Vampire Cop Ricky) - 1,619,557
03. 홀리데이 (Holiday) - 1,345,174
04. 싸움의 기술 (The Art of Fighting) - 1,273,000
05. 구세주 (Oh! My God) - 1,110,000
06. 야수 (Running Wild) - 1,013,678
07. 음란서생 (Forbidden Quest) - 878,000
08. 백만장자의 첫사랑 (The Millionaire's First Love) - 552,634
09. 사랑을 놓치다 (Lost in Love) - 511,200
10. 손님은 왕이다 (The Customer is Always Right) - 91,000

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All Time Box Office Top 20 (Korean Films)
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01. 태극기 휘날리며 (Taegukgi) - 11,746,135 [2004]
02. 왕의 남자 (The King and The Clown) - 11,445,412 [2005]
03. 실미도 (Silmido) - 11,108,000 [2003]
04. 친구 (Friend) - 8,180,000 [2001]
05. 웰컴 투 동막골 (Welcome To Dongmakgol) - 8,002,594 [2005]
06. 쉬리 (Shiri) - 6,210,000 [1999]
07. 투사부일체 (My Boss, My Teacher) - 6,080,000 [2006]
08. 공동경비구역 JSA (Joint Security Area) - 5,830,000 [2000]
09. 가문의 위기 (Marrying The Mafia 2) - 5,663,000 [2005]
10. 조폭 마누라 (My Wife is a Gangster) - 5,250,000 [2001]
11. 가문의 영광 (Marrying the Mafia) - 5,200,001 [2002]
12. 말아톤 (Marathon) - 5,148,022 [2005]
13. 살인의 추억 (Memories of Murder) - 5,120,000 [2003]
14. 엽기적인 그녀 (My Sassy Girl) - 4,841,500 [2001]
15. 동갑내기 과외하기 (My Tutor Friend) - 4,810,000 [2003]
16. 신라의 달밤 (Kick The Moon) - 4,353,800 [2001]
17. 태풍 (Typhoon) - 4,180,000 [2005]
18. 집으로 (The Way Home) - 4,091,000 [2002]
19. 색즉시공 (Sex is Zero) - 4,089,900 [2002]
20. 공공의 적 2 (Another Public Enemy) - 3,911,356 [2005]

[Sources: Yonhap News, nKino, Film2.0, KOBIS]