4.5 Million Discount Coupons Distributed, Used by 3 Out of 10 Moviegoers
Audience Numbers Rebound to Last Year's Levels... "Zombiedaughter" Leads the Box Office
"Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint" Underperforms
Diverging Fortunes Driven by Content Competitiveness
The movie theater industry has experienced a brief respite. The government distributed 4.5 million discount coupons worth 6,000 won each, leading to audience numbers recovering to last year's levels.
A notice regarding movie ticket discount coupons is installed at a movie theater in Seoul. Yonhap News
According to the Integrated Computer Network for Movie Tickets on August 14, the number of moviegoers from July 25, when the discount coupons were issued, to August 13 reached 9,548,475. This figure surpasses the 8,746,698 recorded during the same period last year. This helped offset, to some extent, the sluggish performance in the first half of the year, when the audience count was only 42,497,753. In comparison, the number of moviegoers in the first half of last year was 62,929,390.
According to the exhibition industry, approximately 30% of moviegoers during this period used the discount coupons. This represents an increase of about 10 percentage points compared to the period when coupons were issued during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Data from the CJ CGV Data Strategy Team shows that 30% of these coupon users returned to theaters for the first time in a year. Hwang Jaehyun, Head of Strategic Support at CGV, stated, "The discount coupons served as a catalyst for bringing audiences back to theaters," and predicted, "Usage rates may rise further during the Liberation Day holiday (August 15-17) and on 'Culture Day' (August 27)." The coupons, distributed on a first-come, first-served basis, were all claimed within three days by July 28, and are valid until September 2.
However, some in the film industry point out that the coupons only provide a temporary boost in audience numbers. They argue that the benefits are not evenly distributed across all titles, and that the effect is limited. In reality, the extent of the benefit varied greatly by film. "Zombiedaughter" attracted 430,087 viewers on its opening day, achieving the highest opening score of the year, and surpassed its break-even point of 2.2 million viewers within a week, becoming the most successful Korean film of the year with 3,647,117 viewers. In contrast, "Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint," considered a summer tentpole film, was released on July 23, just before the coupons were distributed, but managed to attract only 1,053,178 viewers by August 13, falling far short of its break-even point of 6 million.
Most analysts attribute this divergence in performance to differences in content competitiveness. "Zombiedaughter" was praised as a family film that stayed true to its original webtoon and was lauded for minimizing the weaknesses of melodrama by reflecting popular tastes. On the other hand, "Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint" alienated its original fans due to excessive adaptation, including changes to its core themes.
Recently, audiences have become more discerning, as they can easily access movie information and reviews through social media and YouTube. The increase in weekend ticket prices from 12,000 won in 2018 to 15,000 won now has further reinforced this trend. The perceived "value for money" has become the key factor in deciding whether to watch a film. A film industry insider commented, "Demand-stimulating policies like discount coupons are only effective if there are movies worth watching," and added, "The government should pay more attention to both the quality and quantity of content."
In fact, only about 25 films are being produced this year, which is half the number produced before COVID-19. The virtuous cycle of box office success, reinvestment, and new productions has been disrupted, leading to a vicious cycle where few films are worth watching. The collapse of the "holdback" system is also contributing to the stagnation of the theater industry. For example, "The Match," released in March, became available on Netflix just six weeks after its theatrical debut.
An industry insider remarked, "One by one, the reasons for audiences to visit theaters are disappearing," and stressed, "A comprehensive review and countermeasures are needed to prevent the situation from worsening." Another insider emphasized, "Now is the time to focus on improving the market structure," and added, "We must first assess whether discount coupons are effective, given that 30% of the annual film budget (27.1 billion won) is being allocated to them."
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