As the anime wave cools, Korea’s theaters are suddenly quiet.
According to the Korean Film Council’s box-office tracker, just 80,568 tickets were sold nationwide on Nov. 3 ― not for a single title, but across all theaters.
Kang Ha-neul’s "The First Ride" held the No. 1 spot for a sixth straight day, yet pulled only 25,178 admissions on day six.
All year long, Japan’s anime juggernaut has driven the market. The momentum started in the first half with Attack on "Attack on Titan The Movie: The Last Attack" (940,000 admissions), then surged in the back half with "Detective Conan: One-eyed Flashback" (730,000), "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba - The Movie: Infinity Castle" (5.57 million), and "Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc" (2.81 million).
"Demon Slayer" and "Chainsaw Man" dominated the summer and the Chuseok holiday corridor (Korea’s Thanksgiving), outpacing local releases. But with those tentpoles fading, the domestic box office has slipped into a slump. Among new titles, "The First Ride" is attracting the most attention, though overall awareness remains low. Smaller projects ― "The Woman in the White Car", "The World of Love", "People and Meat" ― and a slate of indies are fighting uphill for screens and audiences.
With few buzzy titles and a thinner release calendar, there’s not much to pull moviegoers back into cinemas.
November is traditionally a slow month, but daily admissions failing to crack 100,000 is a flashing red light for exhibitors and the industry. The bigger worry: there’s no obvious fix on the horizon.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kim Ji-hye)