Foot traffic to the movie theater is ‘popping’… The average number of viewers per day this month is the lowest this year

Due to the absence of blockbuster films, the average daily number of moviegoers visiting movie theaters this month has fallen to the lowest level this year.

This off-season is expected to continue until next month, when major foreign films are released.

According to the integrated movie theater ticket network on the 14th, the average daily number of moviegoers from November 1st to 13th was 132,000.

This is a 47.2% decrease compared to the previous month (about 250,000 people), which is the lowest number this year. If the level of 130,000 continues until the end of the month, it will be the lowest level since April 2022 (about 104,000 people) when COVID-19 social distancing measures were lifted.

November is usually considered the off-season as it falls between the Chuseok holiday and the end of the year, when major foreign films and works from major domestic film companies are released. This year, the impact of Chuseok releases on November was particularly reduced due to the fact that Chuseok was in September and the Chuseok releases did not achieve great box office success.

Meanwhile, due to a lack of works that can attract a wide audience, the performance is worse than in November of previous years. The average number of viewers this month is only half that of last November (about 246,000).

The top box office hit for the month of November last year was the Disney animation 'Zootopia 2', which was released on the 26th, the end of the month, and attracted 2.1 million viewers over five days. Looking at CGV's advance reservation audience by age, 30% are in their 40s, 26% are in their 30s, and 29% are in their 20s.

On the other hand, the Japanese animation 'Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of Mermaid Island', which maintained the top spot at the box office this month until the previous day, is concentrated on those in their 20s, with 40% in their 20s, 21% in their 30s, and 21% in their 40s.

Fundamentally, there is an analysis that there is an aftereffect of a decrease in the number of Korean films being produced. Aside from the masterpieces that fill the peak season, there are no works that can attract audiences by being released in the off-season.

Kim Hyeong-ho, a film market analyst, explained, "This is because there is a structural lack of released films. As big films are flocking to the peak season, the off-season situation has become more severe. The tendency to release one or two successful films every month has disappeared."

The vacancy in new commercial films is being filled by works or re-releases with a strong fandom. As of 8 a.m. on this day, the highest reservation rate was the live performance movie 'Lim Young-woong | It was ‘I’m Hero the Stadium 2’ (14.8%, 46,000 people). The re-released films 'Dune' (2021, 4.7%) and 'La La Land' (2016, 4.3%) also ranked high at 6th and 7th place, respectively.

Theaters are crossing the ‘Barley Pass’ with a variety of works, including live performance movies, short-form dramas, and re-released films.

Lotte Cinema has launched an exclusive lineup that includes the vertical cinema 'Gwangan: The Crown Prince's Woman', which includes short-form dramas, as well as the re-release of 'Marie Antoinette' (2007) and the animation 'I Want to Eat Your Pancreas' (2018).

CGV announced ‘Lim Young-woong | They are attempting to attract audiences by releasing 'I'm Hero the Stadium 2' and the re-released films 'Dune' and 'Attack on Titan: Wings of Liberty' (2015) in special theaters such as IMAX and 4DX.

This trend is expected to continue until December, when major foreign films are released. Other than 'Snowfall' starring Kim Yun-seok and Koo Kyo-hwan, which will be released on the 18th, and 'Sad Tropics', starring Kim Myung-min, which will be released on the 25th, there are no works that can be a variable.

‘Avengers: Doomsday’ and ‘Dune: Part 3’ will be released simultaneously on the 16th of next month. 'Avengers: Doomsday' is a sequel to the 'Avengers' series that comes out 7 years after 'Avengers: Endgame' (2019), and 'Dune: Part 3' is expected to be the finale of the 'Dune' series. Special theaters such as IMAX are also expected to be popular.

A theater official said, "As there are no tentpoles (big movies with high box-office potential), (theaters) are showing various works, such as re-releases or solo releases," and added, "I think this market trend will continue until the big movies are released."