Big-Budget Korean Movies Flop
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Big Budget Korean Movies Flopping as Local Audiences Seek Unique Storylines
The Korean film industry saw the largest number of big-budget movies last year.
Unfortunately, their box office tallies didn't match up to those huge budgets.
Son Hee-kyung examines what they did wrong, and what Korean moviegoers seem to be looking for.
Multi-million-dollar production budgets and stellar casting equaled box office disasters for Korea's most anticipated blockbusters, last year.
SON HEE-KYUNG, REPORTER: "2005 saw the release of some of the most expensive Korean movies ever made. But the public's response was anything but warm. In fact, box office sales were downright depressing. So where did they go wrong?"
For example "Typhoon" or "Taepung" in Korean drew a lot of hype by focusing on the divided Korean peninsula.
Its 15-million-U.S.-dollar budget was tiny compared to those of Hollywood, but it was the most expensive Korean film ever made.
But only 4.2 million people saw it falling short of the 6.2 million moviegoers needed, to reach the break-even point.
Movie critics say one of the main flaws of big budget Korean movies is an overdependence on computer graphics.
RECODED: "Big-budget films like "Typhoon" didn't have strong storylines or characters, to appeal to audiences. People couldn't easily relate to the story. Also, Korean viewers these days have grown more skeptical of glossy marketing campaigns".
Let's look at another example.
This movie, full of panoramic aerial scenes, cost almost $10 million.
It crashed and burned at the box office, attracting only 600,000 moviegoers.
What turned them off?
Well, "Blue Swallow" was set during the Japanese occupation of Korea, and viewers saw the characters as either oblivious or sympathetic to Imperial Japan.
But the film, "The King and the Clown", costing just over four million dollars is on a roll.
Just 34 days after its release, more than eight million moviegoers had seen the film.
In fact, it's already the third-most-watched movie in Korean history.
What's working, critics say, is solid acting, a unique-yet-convincing plot, and flirting with a taboo topic: homosexuality.
Based on a true story about a Korean king and his jester during the Joseon Dynasty, critics say the movie may be changing the way films are made here.
RECODED: "I expect that there will be more movies with a budget around $5 million released that don't necessarily have a cast of top stars. Instead producers are likely to start focusing on providing a well-thought-out plot. And of course, unique subjects".
Many moviegoers in Korea say that should be something to look forward to.
Son Hee-kyung, Arirang News.
Video by following the link below.
The Korean film industry saw the largest number of big-budget movies last year.
Unfortunately, their box office tallies didn't match up to those huge budgets.
Son Hee-kyung examines what they did wrong, and what Korean moviegoers seem to be looking for.
Multi-million-dollar production budgets and stellar casting equaled box office disasters for Korea's most anticipated blockbusters, last year.
SON HEE-KYUNG, REPORTER: "2005 saw the release of some of the most expensive Korean movies ever made. But the public's response was anything but warm. In fact, box office sales were downright depressing. So where did they go wrong?"
For example "Typhoon" or "Taepung" in Korean drew a lot of hype by focusing on the divided Korean peninsula.
Its 15-million-U.S.-dollar budget was tiny compared to those of Hollywood, but it was the most expensive Korean film ever made.
But only 4.2 million people saw it falling short of the 6.2 million moviegoers needed, to reach the break-even point.
Movie critics say one of the main flaws of big budget Korean movies is an overdependence on computer graphics.
RECODED: "Big-budget films like "Typhoon" didn't have strong storylines or characters, to appeal to audiences. People couldn't easily relate to the story. Also, Korean viewers these days have grown more skeptical of glossy marketing campaigns".
Let's look at another example.
This movie, full of panoramic aerial scenes, cost almost $10 million.
It crashed and burned at the box office, attracting only 600,000 moviegoers.
What turned them off?
Well, "Blue Swallow" was set during the Japanese occupation of Korea, and viewers saw the characters as either oblivious or sympathetic to Imperial Japan.
But the film, "The King and the Clown", costing just over four million dollars is on a roll.
Just 34 days after its release, more than eight million moviegoers had seen the film.
In fact, it's already the third-most-watched movie in Korean history.
What's working, critics say, is solid acting, a unique-yet-convincing plot, and flirting with a taboo topic: homosexuality.
Based on a true story about a Korean king and his jester during the Joseon Dynasty, critics say the movie may be changing the way films are made here.
RECODED: "I expect that there will be more movies with a budget around $5 million released that don't necessarily have a cast of top stars. Instead producers are likely to start focusing on providing a well-thought-out plot. And of course, unique subjects".
Many moviegoers in Korea say that should be something to look forward to.
Son Hee-kyung, Arirang News.
Video by following the link below.
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