Will the K-POP group BTS become a relief pitcher for a stagnant theater district? As the aftermath of the coronavirus infection (Corona 19) continues, the box office performance of the Hollywood films’Tenette’ and Disney’s’Mulan’, which were counted as anticipated films this year, is sluggish, and attention is being focused on whether or not the BTS-starred films will be released. .
As Corona 19 has recently spread and stagnated, theater districts are also unable to avoid the ripple effect. According to the integrated computer network of Youngjinwi, the total number of audiences who visited the movie theater last weekend (18-20 days) was 33,2931, which was less than 3,39296 people on the weekend of Jeonju (11-13).
Posters for the Hollywood movie “Tennet” and the Disney live-action movie “Mulan.” / Provided by Warner Bros. Korea and Walt Disney Company Korea
According to the “August Korean Film Industry Settlement” released by the Korea Film Promotion Commission, the total number of audiences in August was 8.38 million, an increase of 57.2% (3.22 million ↑) from the previous year, but it was still 64.4% lower than the same period last year.
The theater district was in the shape of gradually finding vitality due to the opening effects of summer masterpieces such as’Pinando’ and’But Save It from Evil’, but after the re-proliferation of Corona 19 in the metropolitan area last month, the atmosphere has declined. After the first weekend of August (July 31-August 2), the number of weekend audiences recorded more than 1 million for three consecutive weeks, but dropped by more than half to 480,000 on the fourth weekend of August (21-23).
New foreign currency works, which were expected this year, are also unable to dance in front of Corona 19.
“Tennet” was a new work by director Christopher Nolan of “Inception” and “Dunkirk,” and received attention even before the release. However, the ability to mobilize the audience is not meeting expectations. The biggest impact was when the release date (August 26) coincided with the period of the ‘social distancing’ upgrade that took place from the middle of last month to the beginning of this month. Although a month has passed since its release, the cumulative number of audiences for “Tennet” as of the 21st (as of the 21st) was only 1.55,2020. The number of spectators a day has dropped to 10,000, making it difficult to exceed 2 million in fact.
The live-action Disney film “Mulan,” which was released on the 17th, was also unable to avoid the sluggishness. On the 17th, the first day of its release, 31,441 audiences were mobilized to rank first in the box office, but after two days, he gave up a spot on the’Tennet’ again.
‘Mulan’ was caught in various controversies even before its release. A “boycott movement” took place in Hong Kong and Taiwan as the lead actor Yoo Yeo-bi made a remark in support of the police who oppressed the Hong Kong protesters. In addition, the inclusion of a phrase in the movie ending credit, ‘I express my gratitude to the Turfan Public Security Bureau (Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region in China) for cooperating with the filming’, added controversy over the Chinese government’s repression of minority ethnic groups in Xinjiang. Accordingly, criticism against’Mulan’ continued in Korea.
In addition, while revising the core story of the original animation, there was even an evaluation that the fun was halved, and ‘Mulan’ is seldom showing its power to attract the audience. On the 18th and 20th, the first weekend after the release, the number of ‘Mulan’ was about 120,000, and the cumulative number of audiences was only 16,3921. On the 21st, the fifth day after the release, the number of audiences has dropped to 10,000. Accordingly, there is also a prospect that it is difficult to expect further box office success in the industry.
“Break the Silence: The Movie” poster featuring K-pop group BTS. /CGV provided
In this situation, attention is being drawn to the success of “Break the Silence: The Movie”, which is called “BTS movie”. “Break the Silence: The Movie” is the fourth documentary film to be released in theaters after “Burn the Stage the Movie,” which was first released two years ago. It contains the backstage of BTS members from the first Korean singer’s solo performance at Wembley Stadium to reaching No. 1 on the Billboard monthly box score. The movie will visit the audience on the 24th after postponing the release date once due to the re-proliferation of Corona 19.
“Break the Silence: The Movie” has already reached No. 1 in the reservation rate, raising expectations for a box office. As of 11:50 am on the 22nd, the reservation rate for ‘Break the Silence: The Movie’ was 51.2%, and the number of pre-sale audience was 43,721. Considering that this film is the sole release of CGV, it is very high. It is also unrivaled compared to other films such as “Diva (14.8%),” which is the second place in the reservation rate, “Tennet (8.1%),” and “Mulan (4.6%)” at the fourth place.
