Director Jang Sung-ho, whose film 'The King of Kings' has grossed over 60 million dollars in theater revenues in the United States alone, revealed that the North American market was the target from the planning stage.
At the press and distribution screening of 'The King of Kings' held at CGV in Yongsan, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 2nd, Director Jang Sung-ho discussed achieving the highest box office success for a Korean film in North America, stating, "From the beginning, we aimed at and developed the project with the North American market in mind. However, there were two main concerns. The first was whether the subject matter would appeal to North America, and the second was whether we could achieve Hollywood-standard quality. We were confident about the latter, but spent a lot of time pondering the former."
He continued, "In searching for a subject based on original works, we thought of 'The Life of Our Lord' written by Charles Dickens. Considering America's Puritan roots, we believed this subject would resonate well in the American market. Surprisingly, we discovered there were no feature-length animated films in the U.S. with Jesus as the protagonist. We thought if successful, it would be quite symbolic."
Director Jang added, "While it's a film with Christian themes, and one might think that's why it succeeded in North America, this work is not limited to a specific religion. It's a story about love, about family. That's why it received such a warm response from the general audience in the U.S."
'The King of Kings' depicts Charles Dickens and his youngest son Walter going on a fascinating journey to 2000 years ago. It has achieved the highest box office sales for a Korean film in North America, with 63 million dollars in theater sales. The film is set to meet audiences in Korea on July 16.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kim Ji-hye)