Three domestic films ready to compete at Chuseok holiday box office

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

Entertainment & Arts

Tue, September 26, 2023 | 05:18

Films

3 domestic films ready to compete at Chuseok holiday box office

Posted : 2023-08-13 17:03

Updated : 2023-08-14 09:05

A scene from the film, "Cobweb" / Courtesy of Barunson E&A

By Kwak Yeon-soo

Three domestic films are set to hit local theaters next month to attract film buffs ahead of Chuseok, Korea's autumn thanksgiving holiday. It is an important period for Korea's film industry as it is one of the country's longer holidays along with the Lunar New Year holiday, which fall in January or February.

This year, Chuseok will be a four-day extended holiday over the weekend, running from Sept. 28 to Oct. 1.

With the arrival of highly anticipated films like "Cobweb", "Road to Boston" and "Dr. Cheon and Lost Talisman," all boasting substantial budgets and needing significant ticket sales to break even, the box office will likely witness tough competition.

"Cobweb," directed by Kim Jee-woon, has set off a wave of excitement among moviegoers ahead of the film's scheduled release in September.

The film was screened at the Out of Competition section of the 76th Cannes Film Festival and received a whopping 12-minute standing ovation.

The film starring Song Kang-ho, Im Soo-jung and Jeon Yeo-been, focuses on the life of a filmmaker from the 1970s who is obsessed with creating a masterpiece and struggles to shoot the film with actors who have a reputation for being difficult to work with amid cultural censorship.

A poster for the film, "Road to Boston" / Courtesy of Lotte Entertainment

"Road to Boston," starring Ha Jung-woo and Im Si-wan, is about Korean marathon runners who participated in Boston Marathon in 1947 after Korea had been liberated from Japan in 1945. It was inspired by the true story of Suh Yun-bok, who won the 1947 Boston Marathon with a world record time.

Directed by Kang Je-gyu, best known for "Swiri" (1999) and "TaeGukGi: Brotherhood of War" (2004), the film was originally scheduled to be released in 2020 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Dr. Cheon and Lost Talisman," fronted by actor Gang Dong-won, will also hit local theaters in September.

The mystery thriller revolves around a fake exorcist who ends up facing a real case of demonic possession. He travels around the country with his assistant to perform fake exorcisms until they get involved in a case of a girl possessed by an evil spirit and are faced with the challenge of saving her.

Korea's box office reached around 70 percent of pre-pandemic levels in the first half of 2023, according to data released by the Korean Film Council.

The total box-office revenue for the first six months of the year period was 606.7 billion won ($474.5 million), the equivalent of 72.5 percent of the same period in 2019. Compared to the first half of 2022, ticket sales have decreased by 5.9 percent. Admissions rose 29.9 percent to hit 58.39 million.

yeons.kwak@koreatimes.co.kr