Star actor Lee Byung-hun donates W100m won to children's hospital on his birthday

Star actor Lee Byung-hun donated 100 million won (US$87,200) to a children's hospital in Seoul on his birthday Monday, according to his agency. The donation, delivered to the children's hospital of Asan Medical Center in southern Seoul, will be used to relieve the financial burdens of young patients and their families and help them continue necessary medical care, said BH Entertainment. "I wish to deliver a little comfort and support to children in a lengthy fight against sickness, and th

July 12, 2021

'Black Widow' tops 1m admissions in first week of release

Marvel Studios' latest movie "Black Widow" smashed the weekend box office in South Korea, surpassing a cumulative 1 million admissions in its first week of release, despite a new wave of coronavirus infections, data showed Monday. The superhero blockbuster attracted 984,000 people over the Friday-Sunday period, bringing its combined total to 1.36 million, according to the data from the Korean Film Council. It became the sixth title released in 2021 to top the 1 million threshold, fol

July 12, 2021

[Graphic News] The 74th Cannes Film Festival in numbers

July 12, 2021

Ten TikTok-style short movies to be screened at 25th BIFAN

Global mobile video platform TikTok on Thursday announced that 10 TikTok-style short films will be screened at the 25th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, which kicked off Thursday and runs through July 18. The short movies will be screened during BIFAN’s “Vertical Short Film Special Screening: 25” program on Sunday, following their release on the global video platform on Friday. TikTok added that the films are edited to be three minutes long and in a vertical f

July 10, 2021

BIFAN to proceed offline amid toughened virus curbs

The 25th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival announced Friday it will continue offline screening after concerns of a fourth wave of COVID-19 infections prompted organizers to consider canceling the event earlier. The announcement came after the government decided to raise virus curbs to the toughest level in Seoul and its neighboring Gyeonggi Province and Incheon from Monday for two weeks. The online-offline hybrid festival kicked off Thursday and will run through July 18 in Buche

July 9, 2021

'The Medium' director says film is ‘new type of horror’

The highly anticipated upcoming film “The Medium,” is a new type of horror movie, says director Banjong Pisanthanakun. “It is a new type. The new type of horror film is different because it makes people feel fear gradually,” the Thai filmmaker told reporters during an interview via Zoom on Thursday. Banjong explained that this was possible due to the original script which was written by Korean director Na Hong-jin. “As a director making horror films, I think it

July 9, 2021

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Black Widow (US) Opened July 7 Action Directed by Cate Shortland Following the events of “Captain America: Civil War” (2016), Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) realizes that there is a huge conspiracy having to do with her past. To fight villain Taskmaster, who can duplicate an opponent’s abilities, Natasha must confront her history as a spy. The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard (US) Opened June 23 Action, Comedy Directed by Patrick Hughes After becoming a bodyguar

July 9, 2021

'Black Widow' tops S. Korean box office on its 1st day

Marvel Studios' latest superhero movie "Black Widow" made a bullish start in South Korea, topping the local box office on the day of its release, data showed Thursday. The film attracted 195,000 moviegoers on Wednesday, far outnumbering runner-up "Hard Hit" with 20,000 and No. 3 "Cruella" with 15,000, according to the data from the Korean Film Council. Considering the fact that "Black Widow" hit local screens at 5 p.m., its opening score lived up to mark

July 8, 2021

More Korean film productions join multinational projects

More and more South Korean film producers and investors have been participating in multinational film projects in recent years, backed by the country's reputation as a rising powerhouse in the global cinema scene. The upcoming horror film "The Medium" is a collaboration of South Korea and Thailand, drawing attention for the teamwork of horror masters of the two countries -- Na Hong-jin of "The Wailing" (2016) and Banjong Pisanthanakun of "Shutter" (2004). Na, who

July 7, 2021

[Newsmaker] Bong Joon-ho declares Cannes festival open in Korean

Palme d'Or and Oscar winner Bong Joon-ho has opened this year's Cannes Film Festival, celebrating the return of world cinema in theaters in about two years. "I declare (the opening of the 74th festival)," the South Korean auteur said in Korean during the opening ceremony held at the Grand Theatre Lumiere on Tuesday (local time). Along with him, American director-actress Jodie Foster, Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar and Cannes jury president Spike Lee made the same statements in Fre

July 7, 2021

Mystery drama ‘The Cursed’ hits the big screen

Popular mystery drama “The Cursed” has made its way to the big screen in a feature film adaption of the tvN series that aired from January to March last year. Yeon Sang-ho, who is widely known for directing multiple zombie films including “Train to Busan” and “Peninsula,” wrote the script for the movie version, “The Cursed: Dead Man’s Prey,” which is being directed by Kim Yong-Wan. “The drama was a thriller that featured mysterious

July 6, 2021

'Black Widow' hits No. 1 in presale tickets ahead of local premier

The upcoming superhero film "Black Widow" is expected to smash the virus-hit South Korean box office, with its presale tickets reaching a fresh yearly high, data showed Tuesday. Marvel Studios' latest film recorded 218,000 presold tickets as of 9:00 a.m. a day before its local release, according to the data by the Korean Film Council. It accounted for 84.2 percent of all tickets reserved at that time, overwhelming Disney's live-action film "Cruella" with 3.4 percent and Kor

July 6, 2021

Three Korean films to be screened at Cannes

Three Korean films -- “In Front of Your Face” by Hong Sang-soo, “Emergency Declaration” by Han Jae-rim and “Cicada” by Yoon Dae-won -- will be screened at the 74th Cannes Film Festival that kicks off Tuesday in France. “In Front of Your Face” was selected in the Cannes Premiere section, a new category dedicated to works from well-established filmmakers. This is Hong’s 11th movie to be invited to the Cannes Film Festival. “Emergency D

July 5, 2021

The Seoul Cinema to close permanently at end of August

The Seoul Cinema, which opened in 1979, announced on Saturday that it will soon close its doors permanently. “The Seoul Cinema, which has been a beloved cultural center of Jongno-gu for over 40 years, will close permanently on Aug. 31, 2021,” theater operator Hapdong Film said in a statement. The operator added that it is currently preparing to make changes, but did not announce specific plans on how the facility will be used in the future. Established in 1964, Hapdong Film was

July 4, 2021

Song Joong-ki movie ‘Bogota: City of the Lost’ halts filming again

Filming for “Bogota: City of the Lost,” starring Song Joong-ki, was suspended after one of the actors tested positive for COVID-19. Shooting of the crime drama will not resume until all the cast members end their self-quarantine, according to the film‘s distributor Megabox Plus M. After being informed that a patient confirmed with COVID-19 had been on a filming site Wednesday, the film‘s main star Song immediately canceled all his engagements and was tested for the vi

July 4, 2021

'Escape from Mogadishu' reinterprets true events of Somali Civil War

Korean action film “Escape from Mogadishu,” directed by Ryoo Seung-wan, features a story based on a true event involving South and North Korean diplomats in Somalia during the 1991 civil war. “Dexter Studios had plans to create a movie based on a true event. The company proposed to me to be part of the project,” director Ryoo said during an online press conference held on Thursday. “I only knew briefly about what happened in Somalia. As I did more research I became

July 3, 2021

'F9' tops box office for H1, but only two Korean movies in top 10

Only two homegrown movies made the top 10 in the local box office over the first six months of this year, while the Hollywood actioner "F9" became the biggest hit in South Korea, data showed Saturday. "F9," the latest chapter in the "Fast and Furious" series, was the most-watched film in the first half of 2021, drawing over 2.28 moviegoers at the end of June, according to the box office data compiled by the Korean Film Council. The Japanese animation "Demon

July 3, 2021

‘Midnight’ invited to two North American film festivals

Streaming platform Tving’s original action thriller “Midnight” has been invited to screen at the 25th Fantasia International Film Festival and the 20th New York Asian Film Festival. The horror flick centers around a woman with a hearing impairment who becomes a serial killer’s target after witnessing a murder at midnight. Since its release on Wednesday, the movie has topped the domestic box office and is set to premiere in France, Japan, Vietnam and elsewhere. It is d

July 2, 2021

Oscar-winning Youn Yuh-jung invited to Academy membership

Two South Korean actresses, including Oscar-winning Youn Yuh-jung, have been invited to the membership of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) that organizes the prestigious Academy Awards. In the 2021 list of new members in the filmmaking industry released Thursday (US time), AMPAS unveiled the names of 395 artists and experts in the filmmaking industry from 50 countries. Among 32 selected actors were Korean actresses Youn and Han Yeri, both stars of the immigrant film &quo

July 2, 2021

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard (US) Opened June 23 Action, Comedy Directed by Patrick Hughes After becoming a bodyguard of hitman Darius (Samuel L. Jackson), Michael Bryce (Ryan Reynolds) keeps having nightmares. Michael finally decides to quit his job, but on the day Darius’ wife Sonia Kincaid (Salma Hayek) comes to him for help. She says that her husband Darius has been kidnapped by mobsters.　 Hard Hit (Korea) Opened June 23 Action Directed by Kim Chang-Ju Sung-kyu (Jo Woo-

July 2, 2021