Korea Box Office: ‘Smugglers’ and ‘Ransomed’ Dominate Weekend, Lift Local Films’ Market Share

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Evil Does Not Exist,” the new drama film by “Drive My Car” director Hamaguchi Ryusuke, has been picked up for North American release by Sideshow and Janus Films. The title will have its world premiere in competition at the Venice festival before playing as a special presentation in Toronto and the main slate of the New York Film Festival. Sideshow and Janus Films, which acquired all North American rights, expect to release the film in theaters after a run of top festivals.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Netflix is further expanding its slate of unscripted TV content from Japan, its most lucrative market in East Asia. The new shows cover the reality, variety and dating genres. “We’re excited to move into a new phase of our content strategy, ramping up our investments in unscripted and bringing new concepts to the screen.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Box office hit “Lost in the Stars” was a contributor to the April to June profits recorded by Chinese tech giant Alibaba’s digital media and entertainment division. The division, which spans streaming, ticketing, film production and distribution and web browser, recorded earnings before interest, taxation and amortization (EBITA) of $9 million (RMB63 million). That follows many years of losses, including $126 million (RMB907 million) of EBITA losses in the equivalent quarter last year.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The video industry in Indonesia is set for rapid growth over the next five years as online services overtake conventional TV’s market share, according to new study. Total video industry revenues (free TV, pay-TV and online video) are expected to grow at 8% compound average growth rate, according to a briefing by Singapore-based research firm Media Partners Asia. The researcher forecasts the market expanding from $2.5 billion in the current year to £3.7 billion in 2028.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Hybe Corp., the Korean pop music giant behind BTS, has further expanded the scale of its empire by buying out its partner in Belift Lab, the firm backing another K-pop powerhouse Enhypen. The company said that it has signed an agreement to acquire CJ ENM’s 51.5% stake in Belift. Deal terms were not disclosed.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Lebanon, once thought of as among the most liberal parts of the Middle East, is poised to ban global hit movie “Barbie.” More conservative Kuwait said Wednesday that it had gone ahead with a ban due to its promotion of homosexuality. Lebanon’s culture minister Mohammad Mortada said on Wednesday that the Warner Bros. film was found to “promote homosexuality and sexual transformation” and “contradicts values of faith and morality” by diminishing the importance of the family unit.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter The elements are finally coming together for Pixar’s “Elemental,” which is enjoying a rebound after a spark-less start at the box office. The animation adventure stumbled in its debut with $29.5 million domestically and $44.5 million globally, by far the worst opening weekend in Pixar’s 28-year history. Yet two months later, its ticket sales have slowly and steadily climbed to $148 million in North America and $425 million worldwide.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Significant decreases in profits at the pictures division and financial services led Japanese electronics and entertainment conglomerate Sony to reveal corporate-wide revenues that increased by a third, but net profits that slipped by 17%, for the first quarter of its financial year. In the April to June period group revenues weighed in at JPY2.23 trillion (up 33% year on year) or $21.6 billion at current rates of exchange.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Hybe, the Korean music and entertainment firm, achieved record revenues in the first half of the year as album sales climbed and live performances took off. This was achieved despite the hiatus being forced on BTS, the company’s most famous K-pop act, by its band members’ military enlistment. On Tuesday, Suga, who had his first solo music tour earlier this year, became the third member of BTS to begin his compulsory military service.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief A team of United Nations inspectors has said it is “deeply alarmed” by the allegations of sexual abuse that may have taken place at leading Japanese talent agency Johnny & Associates. Abuses may have involved “several hundred” talents, according to the org. The United Nations Working Group on Business and Human Rights began its first official visit to Japan last month and concluded 12 days of meetings and interviews last week.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Meg 2: The Trench,” the second instalment in the Chinese-financed giant shark franchise, was the top film worldwide over the weekend. But in its China home market “Meg 2” was beaten by strong previews of “No More Bets.” Nevertheless, the arrival of two popular films at the top of the chart meant that China enjoyed its third highest box office weekend of the year, with a $185 million haul. That score is the strongest weekend of 2023 outside the Chinese New Year holiday season.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Meg 2: The Trench” serves up a school of prehistoric fish that chew up the seas, a snapping pack of imaginary hybrid dinosaurs that wreak havoc on land and a surprising cinema business model — the Chinese-controlled franchise intended for a global audience. And while early reviews are predictably mixed, the film’s box office debut looks promising. In China, on Friday, it bit off a $19.5 million first day and enjoyed a 50% market share.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Theatrical cinema in July enjoyed its highest revenues since pre-pandemic times, with global box office hitting $4.54 billion during the month. “This is the single highest-grossing month since before the pandemic began.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Heavens: The Boy and His Robot,” a Singapore-produced movie, will have its world and commercial premiere in Japanese cinemas this November. The film is Singapore’s first live-action feature film of the mecha genre, a genre of Japanese manga and anime that features or focuses on mechanical innovations such as robots and cyborgs.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The Busan film festival’s Asian Project Market is set to welcome several of the region’s top auteurs either as producers or prospective directors at its next edition in October. APM organizers Thursday unveiled 30 projects to be presented during a four-day round of one-on-one meetings and pitching sessions. India’s Rima Das (“Tora’s Husband”) will pitch “Malti My Love.” Japan’s Fukada Koji (“Love Life,” “Harmonium”) will pitch “Nagi Notes.” Indonesia’s Makbul Mubarak (“Autobiography”) will pitch “Watch It Burn.” Among the successful producers adding their weight to APM contenders are: Patrick Mao Huang (“Moneyboys,” “Tiger Stripes”) selling Peter Ho’s project “Appetite for Desire”; Jeremy Chua (“Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell,” “Autobiography”), pitching Rafael Manuel’s “Filipinana”; Ichiyama Shozo (“Ash Is Puirest White”) pitching Song Fang’s Japan-China collaboration “Full Moon”; Fran Borgia (“A Land Imagined,” “Tiger Stripes”) pitching Aakash Chhabra’s “I’ll Smile in September”; and Tan Chui Mui (“Barbarian Invasion”) pitching Jian Xiaoshuan’s “To Kill A Mongolian Horse.” The project market and the Asian Contents & Film Market are both scheduled to operate Oct.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Upcoming female-led mystery-thriller series “Mask Girl” sees an unassuming office worker secretly rise the heights as a popular, masked online model and, in a downward spiral, become Prisoner #1047. Seemingly repentant, she secretly plots her escape. The Korean-produced show employs three different actors Ko Hyun-jang, Nana and a yet-to-be-revealed newcomer to represent the Kim Mo-mi character in her different evolutions.Netflix will Thursday drop a trailer and three separate posters intended to create intrigue as to Kim’s real nature, ahead of the series’ Aug.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Japanese anime series took four of the top ten places in streaming service Netflix’s latest global chart of non-English-language shows. The top title of the week July 24-30 was Brazilian teen crime drama series “Sintonia,” in its fourth season. Japanese animation series have long been key audience drivers in Japan and other parts of Asia.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The Asia Contents Awards, held as part of the Busan International Film Festival since 2019, is to join forces with the Global OTT Awards to form a wider-reaching event. The merged events are to be known under the ungainly abbreviation ACA & G.OTT Awards and will be co-hosted by South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT and Busan Metropolitan City authorities. The ceremony will be held in Busan on Sunday Oct.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Australia’s annual celebration of TV this weekend named Sam Neill as the country’s most popular actor for his role in courtroom drama series “The Twelve.” The Foxtel and Binge show was the numerical winner on the evening in a tie with Binge’s “Colin From Accounts.” Both shows picked up a trio of awards.Sonia Kruger was named Australia’s most popular TV personality for her roles on “The Voice,” “Dancing With the Stars” and “The Masked Singer.”Gold Logie for most popular personality on Australian TV: Sonia Kruger, “The Voice,” “Dancing with the Star” and “Big Brother,” Seven Network Bert Newton Award for most popular presenter: Tony Armstrong, “A Dog’s World” with Tony Armstrong, ABC Silver Logie: Most popular Australian actor: Sam Neill, “The Twelve,” Foxtel & Binge Silver Logie: Most popular Australian actress: Kitty Flanagan, “Fisk Season 2,” ABC Graham Kennedy Award for most popular new talent: Amy Shark, “Australian Idol,” Seven Network Most popular drama series, miniseries or telemovie: “Home and Away,” Seven Network Most popular entertainment program: “Gogglebox Australia,” Foxtel & Network 10 Most popular current affairs program: “Australian Story,” ABC Most popular comedy program: “Have You Been Paying Attention?,” Network 10 Most popular reality program: “MasterChef Australia: Fans & Favourites,” Network 10 Most popular lifestyle program: “Travel Guides,” 9Network Most Outstanding AwardsSilver Logie: Most outstanding actor: Patrick Brammall, “Colin from Accounts,” Binge Silver Logie: Most outstanding actress: Harriet Dyer, “Colin from Accounts,” BingeSilver Logie: Most outstanding supporting actor: Thomas Weatherall, “Heartbreak High,” Netflix Silver Logie: Most outstanding

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms,” the first part of Wuershan’s big-budget “Fengshen Trilogy,” topped the mainland China box office for the second weekend and expanded its week-on-week haul by 35%. ‘Barbie’ also showed signs of resilience in a market where it opened a week earlier in a disappointing fifth place. “Creation of the Gods I” grossed $57.6 million.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief There is female empowerment in Korean cinemas, but it is coming more from local characters, than global hit “Barbie.” Female-led crime action film “Smugglers” dominated the weekend at the South Korean box office and pushed aside “Mission: impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” which had headed the chart for the previous two sessions. “Smugglers” earned $9.31 million between Friday and Sunday, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic), giving it a nearly 54% market share. Over its full five opening days, the film has built up a cumulative total of $13.1 million.