I took that photo at CGV Mok-dong on Wednesday, but was interested to find out that A Little Pond isn't playing there. In fact, it's not playing much of anywhere.
Out of 19 theatres in Seoul, only two are screening it (Bulgwang and Gangdong). Out of 19 theatres in Incheon/Gyeonggi, only four are screening it (Bupyeong, Ansan, Incheon (on two screens), and Ilsan. Out of 5 theatres in Daejeon/Chungcheong one is screening it (Dunsan), and out of 19 in Busan/Gyeongsang, four are screening it (Gimhae, Daegu, Dongnae, and Asiad) (with Chuncheon, the only theatre in Gangwon, not playing it). In total, out of 63 CGV theatres, only 11 are screening it. CGV’s site says it has only 0.6% share of reserved tickets (leaving it in 15th place for reservations).
Out of 14 Megabox theatres, it’s playing only in Coex, Daegu, Jeonju, and Haeundae.
Whether because of the subject matter, the poor reviews, or the competition (Bestseller and Clash of the Titans are dominating the box office), theaters don't seem too keen to screen it.
Despite all the bluster I've heard and read over the past couple decades about how feverishly anti-American South Koreans supposedly are, I guess there aren't enough chinboistas and closet haters to fill the movie theaters over something reflecting their core narrative.
ReplyDeleteMaybe if they keep having the same people go to the theaters to watch the movie day after day after day, like during the Mad Cow protests, they can make their numbers seem larger again.
I am pleased by this outcome.
These are the first-weekend figures from KOFIC:
ReplyDelete85 screens
76,660,000 gross
10,784 wkend admission 26,940 total adm.
all in all, higher-end of an indie/limited release (a typical indie-run is <10K.)
The next wave of war-themed production (battle of yellow sea, into the gunfire, D-day, sleeping with the enemy; on TV: road #1 & comrade), promise more big-budget sleekness, even 3D effects. they certainly boast more dashing, romantic(ized) leads plus next-generation Great New Hope-stars - which may be why this type of folksy ensemble of no-name villagers got "little pond" a minor release (Moon Seong-geun's lasting image of "that darn leftist" as its main PR face, probably doesn't help either.)
Much bluster, little bang, from the looks of it.
ReplyDeleteI would suspect the sinking of the Cheonan probably hurt interest and ticket sales.
85 screens is not quite right. The KOBIS system overcounts theaters a fair bit -- if a movie plays on screen #4 on Saturday and screen #2 on Sunday, that counts at two screens. So it was probably on something closer to 60 screens or so over the weekend.
ReplyDeleteBut, yeah, Korean audiences have been very entertainment-oriented for quite some time. Very little interest in Korea in eating their vegetables, as it were.
And, of course, there is the looming spectre that is Iron Man 2, which is going to annihilate *everything* in its path. No one wants to go up against that film.
http://mikemcstay.blogspot.com/2010/04/movie-review-little-pond-jak-eun-yeon.html
ReplyDeletemy review of the film.