Disney's 'Frozen 2' tops 10m admissions in S. Korea

Walt Disney’s sensational film “Frozen 2” surpassed 10 million admissions in South Korean theaters on Saturday.The animated flick set the record by 2:40 p.m., according to Walt Disney Company Korea, the local film distributing unit of the US giant, based on a real-time box-office tally from the Korean Film Council.It exceeded the mark on the 17th day since its release on Nov. 21 and became the 27th film to reach the milestone of 10 million ticket sales in South Korea.Its 2014 p

Dec. 7, 2019

S. Korean cinemas expected to hit record attendance in 2019

South Korean movie theaters are expected to attract the largest-ever number of viewers this year on the back of a number of smash-hit series in the first half of the year, data showed Friday.More than 204 million tickets were sold in theaters around the country in the first 11 months, up 5 percent from the same period last year, according to the data by the Korean Film Council.The number is expected to hit an all-time high of 220 million by the end of 2019 given that about 20 million tickets are

Dec. 6, 2019

'House of Hummingbird' picked as Best Film of Year by KFPA

South Korean film producers chose "House of Hummingbird" as the Best Film of the Year on Thursday.The Korean Film Producers Association said it has decided to give the honor of the 2019 KFPA Awards to the indie movie directed by Kim Bo-ra. Set in a rapidly developing Seoul in 1994, the film is a touching coming-of-age drama centered around Eun-hee, an isolated, lonely 14-year-old girl in a dysfunctional family. As a middle school student, Eun-hee wanders aimlessly while continuously se

Dec. 5, 2019

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Frozen 2(US)Opened Nov. 27Animation, Adventure, Comedy Directed by Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee Anna (Kristen Bell), Elsa (Idina Menzel), Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), Olaf (Josh Gad) and Sven leave Arendelle to travel to an ancient forest in an enchanted land. They set out to find the origin of Elsa’s powers in order to save their kingdom. Ford v Ferrari(US)Opened Dec. 4Action, Biography, Drama Directed by James Mangold American car designer Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) and driver Ken Miles

Dec. 5, 2019

[Herald Review] Two’s company: Hopkins and Pryce enliven papal buddy film ‘The Two Popes’

This was honestly not what I expected from a film about papal succession: a delightful buddy film about an unlikely friendship that took place -- of all places -- at the Vatican. Forget about grappling with faith or messages about the Catholic Church reaching out to the world in a humble way. “The Two Popes” director Fernando Meirelles has created a perfectly riveting drama brought to life by the fascinating back-and-forth performance by Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce.The story t

Dec. 4, 2019

Dictator’s assassination, volcanic eruptions at Paektusan coming to big screens soon

While South Korea’s box office is dominated by Disney’s “Frozen 2” at the moment, the competition is expected to get fierce later this month and early next month, when a number of local tent-pole films hit the theater.The producers of “The Man Standing Next” confirmed Tuesday that the film -- inspired by the true story of the assassination of a former Korean president -- will open next month.Starring Lee Byung-hun, Lee Sung-min and Kwak Do-won, the film is bas

Dec. 3, 2019

‘Frozen 2’ accused of monopoly, fueling screen-quota controversy

A Korean civic group on Monday filed a complaint against Walt Disney Company Korea with prosecutors, claiming the film “Frozen 2” violated anti-monopoly law here.The Public Welfare Committee said the screening of the hit Disney animation film at over 88 percent of screens throughout the country on Nov. 23 violates the country’s anti-monopoly law.It claimed the film falls under the clause that defines any individual that has over 50 percent of market share as a market-dominant e

Dec. 2, 2019

Ryan Reynolds says ‘6 Undergrounds’ shows how times are changing

For decades, big-budget Hollywood blockbusters have been linked to the silver screen.But the upcoming release of Michael Bay’s “6 Underground” by global streaming giant Netflix is a reminder that the movie distribution industry is changing fast. “I’ve been lucky enough to work in this business for 25 years now, and I don’t think I’ve worked on a movie of this scale and scope. Just the fact that they’re bringing this to Netflix is a real sign of the

Dec. 2, 2019

Box-office hit 'Frozen 2' reignites debate over anti-monopoly regulations

As Walt Disney's ambitious film "Frozen 2" smashes the South Korean box office, the local cinema market is again engulfed in a long-running debate over anti-monopoly regulations. "Frozen 2," the sequel to 2013's "Frozen," exceeded 6 million admissions on the ninth day of its release as of Friday, according to the latest data compiled by the Korean Film Council (KOFIC).In particular, about 1.66 million people saw the animated film on Saturday alone, on par with the a

Nov. 29, 2019

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Frozen 2(US)Opened Nov. 27Animation, Adventure, Comedy Directed by Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee Anna (Kristen Bell), Elsa (Idina Menzel), Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), Olaf (Josh Gad) and Sven leave Arendelle to travel to an ancient forest in an enchanted land. They set out to find the origin of Elsa’s powers in order to save their kingdom. Bring Me Home(Korea)Opened Nov. 27ThrillerDirected by Kim Seung-wooJeong-yeon (Lee Yeong-ae) heads to a village after receiving a tipoff that her son, wh

Nov. 29, 2019

‘Forbidden Dream,’ tale of relationship between legendary king and inventor

Sejong the Great, the fourth king of the Joseon era, was a man of science -- as popularly demonstrated by his depiction in the “Civilization” video game series. Jang Yeong-sil was an engineer and inventor, who made his mark in history with countless inventions during Sejong’s reign that showed the technological advancement of his country.Upcoming historical drama “Forbidden Dream” highlights the relationship between the two geniuses of the 15th century in a creative

Nov. 28, 2019

'Frozen 2' tops 4m ticket sales within 4 days of release

The sensational Walt Disney animation "Frozen 2" has topped the milestone of 4 million ticket sales less than four days after its release in South Korea, data showed Sunday. "Frozen 2" sold 1,661,967 tickets on Saturday alone after it was released in South Korea last Thursday to top the Korean box office on the very release day, according to the data from the Korean Film Council. The Saturday daily sales were only 502 tickets less than the highest local one-day sales record o

Nov. 24, 2019

Topping box office upon release, 'Frozen 2' to continue winning streak

Sensational Walt Disney animation "Frozen 2" immediately topped the box office on the first day of its release in South Korea, box-office data showed Friday."Frozen 2" sold 606,816 tickets on the first day of its release Thursday here, debuting atop the box office, according to data by the Korean Film Council.On Thursday, the film was shown on 2,343 movie screens across the country and ran 12,998 times, according to the data. This marked 63 percent of all the shows screened t

Nov. 22, 2019

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Black Money(Korea)Opened Nov. 13Crime, DramaDirected by Chung Ji-youngAn employee of the Financial Supervisory Service is killed in an accident. An employee of a bank takes her own life, putting the blame on alleged sexual harassment by public prosecutor Yang Min-hyeok (Cho Jin-woong). Seeking to clear his name, Yang finds that the two seemingly unrelated deaths are linked to a questionable acquisition by a foreign investment bank.The Divine Move 2: The Wrathful(Korea)Opened Nov. 7Crime, ActionD

Nov. 22, 2019

Doorbell song from 'Parasite' hits internet

As Bong Joon-ho's black comedy "Parasite" continues to make waves as an international film in North America, a short catchy song from the movie has gone viral on the internet across the world.The so-called Jessica jingle is a brief chant that the character Ki-jung, played Park So-dam, sings with her brother Ki-woo (Choi Woo-sik) in order to remember her false identity and alias, Jessica, before ringing the doorbell of a rich family's house.The wily siblings sweet-talk the affluent fami

Nov. 18, 2019

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

The Divine Move 2: The Wrathful(Korea)Opened Nov. 7Crime, ActionDirected by Lee KhanA boy who is all alone in the world stumbles across a man named Heo Il-do (Kim Sung-kyun), who trains him as a Go player to facilitate his high-stakes gambling scams. The boy, later known as “Gwi-soo” (Kwon Sang-woo), grows up to be a masterful Go player with a vengeful heart and he hunts down those who have wronged him, including the nation’s best professional Go player, whose actions led to th

Nov. 15, 2019

Directors, producer of ‘Frozen 2’ to visit Korea

The creative minds behind the highly anticipated sequel to hit Disney animation “Frozen” (2013) will visit Korea later this month. Walt Disney Co. Korea on Monday announced that directors Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, producer Peter Del Vecho and animation supervisor Lee Hyun-min of “Frozen 2” will visit Korea from Nov. 25-26 to meet with fans of the film.  They are expected to take part in a press conference, a showcase and other events to promote the film, though de

Nov. 14, 2019

Yoon Jung-hee, beloved actress and icon of Korean cinema

The nationwide reaction to the recent news that Yoon Jung-hee has Alzheimer’s disease was a testament to her place in South Korean cinema today.　Yoon, perhaps not the best-known actress to the younger crowds as she appeared in only one film after 1994, commanded the spotlight in the 1960s and 1970s as one of a “troika” of actresses considered the best and most influential of their time. The other two were Moon Hee and Nam Jeong-im. Born in 1944 as Son Mi-ja, she debuted in 1967

Nov. 12, 2019

‘Parasite’ biggest commercial success among foreign films in N. America this year

The Cannes-winning Korean film “Parasite” has garnered more than $11 million in revenue in North America, becoming the most commercially successful foreign language title of this year so far, industry data showed Monday. The film’s revenue from the one-month period since its North American release on Oct. 11 till Sunday came to $11.28 million, according to the data by the US box office and the American magazine Variety. This marks the most revenue garnered by a foreign-lan

Nov. 11, 2019

'Parasite' biggest commercial success among foreign films in North America this year

The Cannes-winning Korean film "Parasite" has garnered more than $11 million in revenue in North America, becoming the most commercially successful foreign language title of this year so far, industry data showed Monday.The film's revenue from the one-month period since its North American release on Oct. 11 till Sunday came to $11.28 million, according to the data by the US box office and the American magazine Variety.  This marks the most revenue garnered by a foreign-language ti

Nov. 11, 2019