‘Beomjoe Doshi 4’ Dominates Over 80% of Screens
"The Bloodletting Competition Among Theaters Results in Losses for Producers and Distributors"
The issue of screen monopolization by the film Crime City 4, which surpassed 8 million viewers just 13 days after its release, was publicly raised at a film industry forum held in conjunction with the 25th Jeonju International Film Festival.
According to the film industry on the 5th, a forum titled "Discussion for the Restoration of the Korean Film Ecosystem" was held on the 2nd at the Jeonju Jungbu Vision Center, hosted by five film organizations including the Korean Film Producers Association. Many film industry officials participating in the Jeonju International Film Festival, which opened on the 1st of this month, attended the forum.
At the forum, Lee Ha-young, CEO of the production company Haha Films, who appeared as a presenter, raised the issue of screen monopolization by Crime City 4, stating, "The only movie available during prime time is Crime City 4. Isn't this excessive? Is this something we can just leave as it is?"
Crime City 4 sparked controversy over screen monopolization by occupying more than 80% of screening shares for seven days after its release.
According to the Korea Film Council's integrated ticketing system on the 5th, Crime City 4 (with a revenue share of 85.4%) maintained its box office dominance by attracting 689,914 viewers the previous day. This was achieved through 15,465 screenings across 2,795 screens nationwide.
Compared to the second-place film Kung Fu Panda 4 (5%), which was shown 1,534 times on 791 screens and attracted 40,748 viewers, the numbers are striking. Most other films are struggling to secure screens and thus find it difficult to attract audiences.
CEO Lee criticized the issue strongly, saying, "This is the result of theaters competitively trying to attract audiences," and added, "It is destroying the film industry."
Discussion Forum for the Restoration of the Korean Film Ecosystem Hosted by Five Film Organizations [Image Source=Yonhap News]
Lee Jun-dong, CEO of Now Film, also stated, "It has been over 10 years since we started discussing the issue of screen monopolization, but nothing has changed," and argued, "Theaters should be excluded from the consensus units that discuss film industry problems."
There was also criticism that although ticket prices at theaters have increased since the COVID-19 pandemic, the growth rate of per capita revenue (sales per viewer) has actually decreased, leading to a contraction in production and investment. It was claimed that losses caused by cutthroat competition among theaters?such as excessive free invitations and telecom or credit card discounts?are being passed on to production and distribution companies.
CEO Lee Ha-young pointed out, "In this process, theaters sometimes consulted with production and distribution companies, but often did not," and noted, "In the case of Pamyo, comparing the appropriate price (12,000 won) with the current per capita revenue, there is a loss of about 900 won per ticket." She estimated that the production company's loss for Pamyo due to the decline in per capita revenue amounts to 10.5 billion won.
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