Movies and OTT Distracted by Impeachment Drama More Dramatic Than TV Dramas

14 Days Box Office No.1 Yet Breakeven Unclear
'Daegajok', '1 Seung' Early Disappoint at Box Office
Martial Law Declaration Causes Daily OTT Visitors to Drop
"Variables Exist but Many Anticipated Titles... Likely No Sharp Decline"

The broadcasting and film industries have contracted following the declaration of martial law on December 3 and the ensuing impeachment political turmoil. There are complaints that this situation may persist for a long time.

Movie '1seung' Still Cut

The film sector is the most clouded. From December 4 to 16, the day after the martial law declaration, the daily average number of moviegoers was only 353,656. This is far below the 538,730 daily average in December last year. It is even less than the 457,153 daily average in December 2022, which was already stagnant due to the spread of COVID-19.

As public interest shifted to politics, the title of box office leader lost its significance. Director Kwak Kyung-taek’s film Firefighter, which held the top spot for ten days during this period, accumulated 1,924,255 viewers. There were eight days when it failed to attract 100,000 viewers. Achieving the break-even point of 2.5 million viewers seems uncertain. An industry insider said, "Despite a boom in group viewings by middle and high school students and marketing efforts such as the 119 donation challenge to attract attention, the cold trend could not be reversed."

Big Family, released on December 11, was an early box office failure. Directed by Yang Woo-seok, known for Steel Rain and The Attorney, and starring Kim Yoon-seok and Lee Seung-gi, it never exceeded 40,000 viewers per day. Its cumulative audience was 225,292, about one-eleventh of the break-even point of 2.6 million. Similarly, One Win, starring Song Kang-ho and Park Jung-min and released on December 4, had a daily average audience of only 21,373. It attracted 299,222 viewers, far short of the 1.8 million break-even point.

Movie 'Firefighter' Still Cut

A theater official described the records as "terrible considering it is the year-end season," explaining that films released before and after the impeachment turmoil failed to benefit from word-of-mouth due to the unsettled atmosphere. A public relations agency representative lamented, "No matter how much effort is put into marketing, the news of the impeachment turmoil overshadows it," adding, "It is bleak as we do not know how long this will continue."

Online video streaming services (OTT) were not spared from the impact. According to Mobile Index, an app statistics analysis platform, Netflix’s daily active users (DAU) dropped about 8% from 2,719,519 on December 1, before the martial law declaration, to 2,493,372 on December 3, the day of the declaration. On December 4, the number further decreased to 2,382,528, about 20,000 fewer than the previous day.

Disney+ 'Jomyeonggage' Still Cut

Tving also saw a slight decrease from 1,469,374 on December 1 to 1,425,132 on December 4. Coupang Play suffered a blow despite releasing the anticipated Family Plan. Its DAU dropped about 22% from 878,767 on December 1 to 689,387 on December 3. Wave also fell from 1,150,173 to 1,073,479 during the same period. Additionally, Disney+ decreased about 19% from 385,090 on December 1 to 315,496 on December 3, and Watcha dropped about 13% from 68,605 to 60,475.

This was a result of viewers’ attention being drawn to terrestrial news and YouTube channels. Many viewers followed breaking news amid the rapidly changing impeachment situation. According to Nielsen Korea, MBC’s News Desk surpassed a 10% viewership rating (10.6%) on December 14, when the National Assembly passed the impeachment motion. The specially scheduled MBC News Special Report before the vote recorded 11.3%. On that day, MBC’s YouTube live stream reached a peak concurrent viewership of 790,000.

Netflix 'Squid Game' still cut

However, as the impeachment turmoil enters a prolonged phase, OTT services are showing signs of recovery. DAU generally rebounded on that day. Netflix increased slightly to 2,611,441, and Tving to 1,489,999. Coupang Play rose to 951,721, Wave to 1,218,327, and Watcha to 66,941, regaining previous trends. Disney+ also succeeded in bouncing back, recording 422,932 viewers, much higher than on December 1. It attracted subscribers by promoting Kang Full’s The Lighting Shop, released on December 4.

An OTT official said, "It is a situation where we cannot predict what sudden variables may occur," but added, "With anticipated releases like Squid Game Season 2 lined up for the year-end and New Year period, a decline is unlikely." Another OTT representative predicted, "Although it is difficult to attract attention with content, OTT can be watched anytime and anywhere with just an internet connection," and forecasted, "The impeachment turmoil will not suppress the viewing desire and consumption willingness of the main viewing generation."