Four of Top 5 Box Office Hits in Korea Are Domestic Films... Hollywood Blockbusters Are Coming

[Anchor]

From "The Man Who Lives with the King" to other hits, Korean cinema has been remarkably strong this year. Starting this week, however, highly anticipated Hollywood films are set to hit theaters.

Reporter Lee Joo-hyung has the story.

[Reporter]

South Korea is one of the few countries where domestic films have not been overshadowed by Hollywood productions.

This year, as the film market shows signs of recovery, four of the top five box office hits are Korean films.

In the first half of the year, the market share of domestic films in terms of revenue is more than double that of Hollywood films, marking the highest level in the past decade.

Global box office hits this year, such as "Super Mario," which surpassed 1 trillion won in revenue, and "Michael," which ranks second globally, only managed to attract about 1.5 million viewers each in Korea.

However, Hollywood is knocking on the Korean market's door again starting this week with a series of blockbusters.

The wave begins with "Disclosure Day," a film by legendary blockbuster director Steven Spielberg.

The master director, who has shown an interest in extraterrestrial civilizations since "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and "E.T.," poses chilling questions amidst a chase between those trying to hide the existence of aliens and those trying to expose it.

[Steven Spielberg/Director: "I believe much more now than when I made 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' (1982) that we are not the only intelligent civilization in the universe."]

The scene where the protagonist suddenly speaks Korean due to an alien's supernatural powers is also quite impressive.

"Toy Story," the pioneer of 100% CG 3D animation, also returns with its fifth installment.

It has been 31 years since the first film, and the greatest rivals to the toy protagonists are no longer other dolls, but tablet devices.

Amidst the bickering between digital devices and analog dolls, the film showcases Pixar's signature witty and heartwarming style, satirizing and twisting modern social trends.

In addition, "Supergirl," a film featuring a female superhero from DC Comics—the rival to Marvel—will be released next week, marking its first live-action adaptation in 42 years. The buzzworthy film "Marty Supreme," in which global young star Timothée Chalamet reportedly practiced table tennis for six years to deliver a career-defining performance, is also set to be released soon.

With the momentum of Korean cinema and the pursuit by Hollywood, the theater industry is wrapping up the first half of the year and heading toward the summer season, traditionally the biggest battleground for films.

Reported by Lee Joo-hyung | Video by Ahn Yeo-jin | Graphics by Hwang Se-yeon | VJ by Oh Se-gwan
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.