How 'The Roundup' became one of most successful franchises

A scene from the film "The Roundup: Punishment" / Courtesy of ABO Entertainment

The action film franchise “The Roundup” continues its impressive run with the latest installment, “The Roundup: Punishment,” solidifying its place in Korean cinema history.

The franchise kicked off with the 2017 action film “The Outlaws.” Although it failed to become a massive success with 6.88 million ticket sales, the film did create enough of a buzz with actor Ma Dong-seok’s formidable cop character clashing with the villainous character played by Yoon Kye-sang.

However, when the series switched its tone to add more comedy while keeping the good-beats-evil plot with Ma throwing big punches to solve crimes, the franchise took off to great success, registering 12.69 million tickets sold.

Since then, the franchise has seen massive success, suppressing 10 million ticket sales with each sequel, the latest of which is "The Roundup: Punishment” which rolled out on April 24. It became the first local film series to have three of its movies topping the 10 million admissions mark.

Actor Yoon Kye-sang played the villainous character in the 2017 action film “The Outlaws.” Courtesy of ABO Entertainment

The fourth installment, “The Roundup: Punishment,” which opened with the fourth-best opening score of all Korean movies with over 820,000 ticket sales, hit the 10 million admissions mark in just 22 days, setting the quickest record of this year and among its series.

It has been dominating the box office for 27 consecutive days, garnering 10.68 million ticket sales as of Tuesday.

Film critic Hwang Young-mee noted that the film series offers a sense of catharsis with its heroic character of Ma Seok-do.

“(In the films,) Ma Seok-do takes action. Nowadays, there don't tend to be a lot of people who get hands-on in real life. So even in movies, when we see someone who throws themselves into solving issues, they feel like a hero, which makes us satisfied,” she said, adding that the latest installment does a good job building on this character.

Actors of the film "The Roundup: Punishment" share their appreciation for surpassing 10 million ticket sales. Courtesy of ABO Entertainment.

“'The Roundup: Punishment’ did well, continuing to develop the character of Ma Seok-do, who seems blunt but sincere. Based on this character, it unfolds a more complex crime case (than previous films) with an overseas location and fast-paced plot development. Ma Seok-do is determined to solve the crime and he does, which becomes a key element that satisfies the audience.”

The latest film picks up on the story of the muscle-bound detective and his team fighting against crime.

When the team discovers a connection between an app used to sell drugs and an illegal gambling operation in the Philippines, they join hands with a cybercrime squad to hunt down the figures behind the gambling cartel, which includes ex-Special Forces agent Baek Chang-gi (Kim Moo-yul) and IT genius Chang Dong-cheol (Lee Dong-hwi).

The film delivers powerful action sequences with boxing-style fighting from Ma and swift knife action from Baek as it delves into a true crime-inspired story. The comedy is offered by the duo of Ma and ex-gangster Jang Yi-soo (Park Ji-hwan), who helps the investigation keep the otherwise same-old detective story going.

Actor Kim Moo-yeol, left, plays the character of Baek Chang-ki in the latest "The Roundup" film. Courtesy of ABO Entertainment

The franchise’s lead actor and producer, Ma Dong-seok, also known as Don Lee, revealed that he consults with detectives and profilers on real-life cases when coming up with the films’ stories while maintaining the series’ core purpose: entertainment.

“It requires a lot of people, more than you think, to make a story that delivers the justice of good-beats-evil and a sense of catharsis. We gather to revise the script dozens of times and when it comes out, we do further reviews to prevent any inaccuracies,” he said during a recent press conference for the latest installment.

“The most basic and clear purpose of all these efforts is to entertain. My goal has been to raise awareness about serious crimes, express gratitude towards detectives and provide a sense of satisfaction and exhilaration.”

A poster for the film " "The Roundup: Punishment," right, is displayed at a theater in Seoul. Yonhap

Despite the positive reviews that the latest film has received, it also has been facing criticism for monopolizing movie screens, accounting for over 80 percent of all films shown in local theaters.

Critic Hwang noted that its domination of theaters will further affect the industry's ability to provide more diverse films for audiences.

“One of the purposes of the movie is to deliver social or positive messages and remind people to set a vision that we may have overlooked in our daily lives. That’s the power of a movie. But when blockbuster films dominate, they take away the opportunity for audiences to appreciate the diverse values and messages that different movies offer because all theaters have the same movies,” she said.

“So movies with deeper messages or artistic values often struggle to secure screenings and end up being shown only at very early or late hours, making them less accessible to many viewers. We need formal measures to prevent this situation, as has been discussed before.”