South Korean cinema holds a 62.1% market share in the year to date, however overall admissions are falling short of last year's gaudy figures.
A report issued by leading exhibitor CGV shows that February's total of 16,698,660 admissions were down only 0.7% on the previous year, despite a widely disappointing turnout for the Lunar New Year's holiday.
Top grossing films in February include two films by CJ
Entertainment: abduction drama "Voice of a Murder" and comedy "Miracle on 1st Street", which have grossed $22 million and $17 million respectively.
On a smaller scale, the performance of local animated film "Yobi the Five-Tailed Fox" was also cause for optimism, with ticket sales amounting to $3.2 million since its January 25 release. In an unusual move, distributor CJ Entertainment boosted the film's screen totals from 9 to 46 screens this weekend in an attempt to revive interest in the family-oriented film.
Nonetheless, February's perf comes in the wake of a massive 24.9% year-on-year drop in January. To be fair, January
2006 was the best-grossing month in Korean cinema history, powered by local hits "King and the Clown" and "My Boss, My Teacher." The top grossers of January 2007 were two holdovers from the previous month: local comedy "200 Pound Beauty" and "Night at the Museum".
Although failing to match last year's figures, overall box office for this year is still tracking well ahead of 2005.
According to an online box-office system operated by the Korean Film Council, market share for the year to date amounts to 62.1% for local pics, 29.3% for Hollywood, 3.8% for Chinese-lingo product, 2.3% for Japan and 2.1% for European films.
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