How Korean Films Are Performing In Global Markets Since The Pandemic

Aug 23, 2024

This week, I’m sharing an article I wrote for KoBiz about how Korean films are being received internationally since the pandemic. Since I wrote this, a few mid-budget Korean films have been performing relatively well at the local box office, including Pilot, Handsome Guys and Escape, which is encouraging. But Korea continues to be a test case of what can happen to theatrical revenues when there is an over concentration of talent and investment in the streaming space.

KoBiz is a film industry online magazine run by the Korean Film Council. If you’re not familiar with it, I recommend you check it out because they have fantastic coverage of the Korean film industry, companies and talent, along with solid box office information. I only wish other territories in Asia had something similar..

There must be many film industries around the world who regard Korean cinema with envy. Following the success of Bong Joon Ho’s Oscar-winning film Parasite, and with the global popularity of K-pop and K-dramas, Korean films have a ‘brand awareness’, backed up by a reputation for quality and strong storytelling, that very few other countries can match.

And yet, the producers, filmmakers and international sales agents toiling away at the coalface of Korean cinema are probably not feeling like this is a golden era. Interest in Korean films hit a high point with Parasite’s multiple awards at the Oscars in 2020, but the ceremony coincided with the start of the pandemic and removed any chance for the Korean industry to capitalise on the film’s success. Cinemas across the world were shuttered, audiences turned to streaming platforms, and in most countries, box office hasn’t fully recovered since.

But perhaps the Korean film industry’s biggest headache is in their home market, where total box office reached only $964m in 2023, which is 45% below pre-pandemic levels, according to Korean Film Council figures. While there have been a few big hits over the past year –12.12: The Day, Exhuma and The Roundup: Punishment – the Korean market has become polarised with many local films performing far below expectations at the box office.

As the distributors of Korean films around the world explain, this has a knock-on effect for the films’ performance in the international market. “These days, Korean films are facing significant challenges at the box office. Success [in the US] often hinges on their performance in Korea itself, especially since many of our Korean films cater to the Korean diaspora,” explains Doris Pfardrescher, CEO of Well Go USA, one of the biggest buyers of Korean movies.

In the huge North America market, Korean films can also be distributed directly by a Korean studio such as CJ ENM, or in the case of films with Oscars potential, through distributors that can spend on an awards campaign, such as Neon (which distributed Parasite) or MUBI (Park Chan-wook’s Decision To Leave). However, most Korean films go through a distributor such as Well Go USA that specialise in Asian cinema and know how to reach diaspora audiences.

Well Go USA’s best-performing Korean films since the start of the pandemic include Yeon Sang-ho’s Peninsula, which grossed $1.23m in 2020, and Jang Jae-hyun’s Exhuma, which has taken $2.3m since its March 2024 release. “Peninsula’s success is due to its association with the beloved Train To Busan franchise, which already had a dedicated fan base, while Exhuma found success with its unique storyline and also appealed to both older and younger audiences,” Pfardrescher says.

Elsewhere in the world, Korean box office results are also a major influence in Asian markets. “We closely follow what is happening to Korean films in their home country,” says Ashwani Sharma, founder of Indian distributor Impact Films. “If a film does well in Korea or a big market like the US, we are more likely to do a theatrical release in India.”

Impact Films has handled Indian theatrical releases for films including Parasite, Exhuma and Broker. But as India is a crowded theatrical market, the company also releases many titles (including Cobweb, Concrete Utopia and Confidential Assignment 2) directly to streaming platforms.

“When we dub into Hindi, Tamil and Telugu, we get much bigger numbers on OTT than if we release the film in Korean with English subtitles,” Sharma explains. However, he adds that it’s getting tougher to do OTT deals as Netflix is focusing on the Korean content it has produced in-house and other streamers are reducing acquisition costs.

Meanwhile, East Asia remains a strong market for Korean films, despite being excluded from mainland China since 2016 for political reasons. Southeast Asia is currently one of the brightest spots, with Exhuma becoming the highest-grossing Korean film of all time in Vietnam and Indonesia, grossing around $7m in each market.

Yunjeong Kim of Korean sales agent Finecut explains that while some genres such as creature and disaster movies are universal, Asia’s preferred genres can be different to those of Western markets: “While thriller and action genres have a stronger positive impact in Europe and the US, Southeast Asian countries tend to show stronger interest in horror, tear-jerking romance, touching family stories or comedy genres,” says Kim.

**Korean sales agent Finecut’s booth in Cannes**

Phong Duong, a senior manager at Vietnam’s Mockingbird Pictures, explains that Southeast Asian audiences can easily relate to the cultural and emotional aspects of Korean content, while cast and storylines also influence a film’s performance: “When we acquired Exhuma, we thought it would be a hit based on the genre, mysterious story, talented director and popularity of the cast.” However, he adds that it was the film’s success in Korea that pushed it to another level: “The film gained more attention when it became a phenomenon at the Korean box office.”

The picture is slightly different in Europe where genre is still a factor, but audiences pay less attention to Korean box office results and are more influenced by film festival buzz and big-name directors (including Bong Joon Ho, Park Chan-wook, Lee Chang-dong, Hong Sangsoo, Kim Jee-woon and Na Hong-jin). However, Kim explains that there are certain Korean stars – such as Don Lee, who is known from Train To Busan, or Lee Jung-jae, known from Squid Game, who can also positively impact a film’s reception.

Sales agents and distributors agree that film festivals have become more important than ever in the crowded but contracting post-pandemic theatrical landscape. Exhuma and The Roundup: Punishment both started their international rollout in Berlin. And while just one Korean film premiered in Cannes this year (Ryoo Seung-wan’s I, The Executioner), the industry is looking forward to the launch of several titles during the autumn festival season – including Hong Sangsoo’s By The Stream in Locarno, and Woo Min-ho’s Harbin and E.oni’s Love In The Big City in Toronto.

The eternal question is how to expand the market for Korean films beyond the big genres, stars and ‘brand name’ directors towards independent films and emerging filmmakers. Film festivals can play a role in this mission, but given the current dynamics of the market, it’s difficult to find distributors who will commit to a theatrical release for smaller films.

Sonali Joshi, founder or of UK distributor Day For Night, which recently released July Jung’s Next Sohee, says it was tough getting cinemas and audiences on board for the film, although she was encouraged by strong reviews in the British press: “I don't think it's anything specific to Korean films, it’s a challenge we've faced with many Asian titles we've released in the UK. Funding is of course always an issue, so if a distributor is able to access more support for larger campaigns then that's always going to help.”

She adds that one issue is the cost of bringing talent over from Asia to promote the release. For Next Sohee, Day For Night pre-recorded a Q&A with director Jung and actress Bae Doona but couldn’t find many cinemas that would screen it. “We reached close to 30 screens for the film but had hoped for more take-up by cinemas and higher audience numbers, especially considering the Parasite effect, but it seems we have to keep on nurturing audiences in a number of ways.”

Festivals can play a role in this and both Kim and Joshi suggest looking beyond big international events, which can only screen a select number of titles, to smaller regional festivals that promote Korean and Asian cinema, such as the London Korean Film Festival and Far East Film Festival in Udine, Italy. Sharma says he is working with exhibitor Cinepolis to launch a festival of Korean films in several Indian cities in August. Korea’s domestic film festivals, such as Busan, Jeonju and BiFan, continue to be essential platforms for introducing Korean filmmakers to international audiences.

But the biggest boon for international distributors of Korean films would be to see the Korean box office recover to its former glory. Korean producers may need to experiment to lure back local audiences, while international buyers tend to be risk-averse, but changing the formulas may help keep Korean cinema fresh. Recently, Japanese and Southeast Asian cinema have been gaining more international attention and many other national film industries are waiting in the wings. Ironically, all look towards Korean cinema and hope to emulate its success.

This article was originally published on KoBiz, a Korean film industry web magazine run by Korean Film Council, on 31/7/2024.

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How Korean Films Are Performing In Global Markets Since The Pandemic

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