Korean films leapt 7.8% to take a 46.1% share of the Seoul market with 44 films released during the first half of 2002, according to figures published by the Korean Film Commission.

The hefty 7.8% increase over the same period in 2001, bodes well for the full-year tally ending up higher than last year's 49.7% share. Hollywood films recorded a 50.4% market share, down 1.4% from the same six-month period last year.

Even including a drop in cinemagoing during the hosting of the World Cup, total admissions in the capital for the period were up a massive 17.4% to reach 17.5 million. Seoul represents about 40% of the box-office take in Korea as a whole, for which accurate figures are not available.

So far, 2002's top five box-office hits by admissions are: The Way Home (S Korea) at 1.44m, The Fellowship Of The Ring (US/NZ) at 1.36m, Public Enemy (S Korea) at 1.16m, Spider-Man (US) at 1.11m, and 2009 Lost Memories (S Korea) at 0.88m.

By distributor, local majors Cinema Service and CJ Entertainment each commanded a large slice of the market with 24.63% and 24.42% respectively. In contrast to previous years, CJ Entertainment held the lead in locally-produced films on the back of hits The Way Home and 2009 Lost Memories, while Cinema Service led the field in imported films, thanks to the strong showing of The Fellowship Of The Ring.

Meanwhile A-Line and Big Blue Film, two locally-based distributors which entered the market this year, scored big with local films, earning 5.65% and 5.52% of the market respectively.

Market share by distributor, Seoul (Jan 1 - Jun 30)

Distributor films / admissions / market share

Cinema Service____10____4,322,726_______24.63%
CJ Entertainment_____15____4,285,177_______24.42%
Columbia Tristar_____11____1,909,717_______10.88%
Warner Bros.__________9____1,607,290________9.16%
Cineworld ____________7____1,160,398________6.61%
A-Line________________7______992,224________5.65%
Big Blue Film_________4______968,462________5.52%
20th Fox_____________10______576,251________3.28%
UIP___________________9______490,530________2.80%
BVI__________________10______482,354________2.75%
Korea Pictures________4 ______449,900________2.56%
Others_______________69______303,922________1.73%

TOTAL____________165___17,548,951_______100.0%

Source: Korean Film Commission (KOFIC)