All articles by Darcy Paquet – Page 10
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Korean investors swarm to country's first film IPO
South Korean major CJ Entertainment celebrated a triumphant IPO on Korea's over-the-counter KOSDAQ exchange on Feb 5, seeing its share price double in value during the day.CJ Entertainment is the first of Korea's film companies to hold an initial public offering. It floated a 30% stake worth $34m (Won ...
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Korea's Showbox seals strategic alliance
Recently-established Korean distribution company Showbox (see Screendaily, January 30) has announced a strategic tie-up with KM Culture, IM Pictures and Korea's largest studio Cinema Service. Under the agreement, KM Culture will take the lead in the network's production operations, with financing divided between the four companies and distribution handled ...
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Korean industry supports screen quota system
Leading figures from the Korean film industry have united in a show of support for the nation's screen quota system, after reports suggesting that the government is planning to weaken the quota's restrictions on movie theatres. The issue has gained added prominence as South Korea and the US are ...
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New entrant swells Korea's distribution sector
In what is rapidly becoming a crowded market, the South Korean distribution sector is to receive another player in Showbox, a subsidiary of local exhibition company Mediaplex.Showbox, still in initial stages of development, is reportedly in negotiation with investment company KM Culture in a deal that could push the number ...
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A-Line launches South Korean distribution network
A major new player has arrived in the South Korean film industry in the form of a new investment/production/distribution network named A-Line, to be run collectively by KTB Entertainment, Samsung Venture Investment Corporation, Kang JeGyu Films and the recently-established EGG Films. More a broad partnership than a distinct corporate ...
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Korea celebrates unprecedented domestic successes
With all of the five highest grossing films of the year being local productions and the top title, Friend (pictured), taking the all-time box office crown, Korean cinema achieved an unprecedented 46.1% market share for Seoul last year, and an estimated 49.1% for the country as a whole.According to year-end ...
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CJ Ent wins Korea's film industry flotation race
South Korean major CJ Entertainment will become the territory's first film company to go public with an initial public offering on Korea's KOSDAQ exchange on February 5. The company plans to float 30% of its stock, hoping to raise a minimum of $31m.A founding shareholder of DreamWorks SKG and one ...
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Lord Of The Rings' $6m in six days in S Korea
Worldwide smash The Lord Of The Rings has scored an impressive opening in South Korea, where it has drawn $6m and over a million viewers in its first six days. Distributed by local major Cinema Service, the film opened on January 1 on 184 screens nationwide, earning $1.44m on ...
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CJ becomes Korea's first international distributor
South Korean major CJ Entertainment will become the first Korean company to distribute directly into international territories when it releases the political drama Joint Security Area (pictured) in Hong Kong on January 3, 2002. The film will be the first in a series of planned overseas releases in Hong ...
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Korea's Cinema Service launches distribution arm
Korean major Cinema Service has launched a new subsidiary, Big Blue Film, that will focus on the distribution of local features. The company will be headed by Choi Yong-bae, former head of distribution at Cinema Service, and will aspire to a slate of ten films per year.Ownership of Big ...
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Hana Bank launches Korea's first film fund
South Korea's Cinema Service is poised to tap into a new source of film financing with the launch of a public film investment fund by Hana Bank. The $7.8m Hana Cinema Trust Fund No. 1, which kicks off on Dec 3, marks the first ever involvement of the banking ...
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Hi Dharma sets new S Korean admissions record
South Korean comedy Hi Dharma (pictured) has set a new box-office record by drawing 203,600 viewers in Seoul on its opening weekend and earning over $4m nationwide.. Filling seats to a 93% capacity, the film broke the previous 2-day Seoul record of 197,426 admissions set in 2000 by Mission: ...
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Korea's CJ sells Musa to multiple territories
Korean giant CJ Entertainment enjoyed a profitable MIFED with strong sales of its film Musa (aka Musa The Warrior) which premiered in September at an interrupted Toronto festival.The film earned CJ its highest price ever for a German deal when it was sold to E-M-S New Media. Musa, which was ...
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Korea's CJ poised to suck up newcomer Tube
South Korean major CJ Entertainment is poised to acquire independent outfit Tube Entertainment in a deal that looks to reshape the landscape of the Korean film industry. A formal acquisition is likely to take place by late November or early December, around the time that CJ Entertainment intends to ...
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Five Korean directors team to form EGG Films
Five established South Korean filmmakers have grouped together to form the nation's first in-house production company. Named EGG Films, the company will tie up the services of directors Park Chan-wook (Joint Security Area), Bae Chang-ho (My Heart), Kwak Jae-yong (My Sassy Girl), Lee Young-jae (Harmonium In My Memory) and Lee ...
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Korea enjoys biggest industry boom since 1960s
Not since the 1960s has Korean cinema enjoyed a boom that compares to this year. Four local features - Friend, My Sassy Girl, Kick The Moon and My Wife Is A Gangster - make up the top-grossing releases of the year to date. The market share for Korean films in ...
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South Korea's Pusan fest's 6th edition line-up
The Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF) has unveiled the complete lineup for its 6th edition, to be held Nov. 9-17 in Busan, South Korea. Opening with the world premiere of Korean director Bae Chang-ho's The Last Witness, the festival will screen a total of 202 films from a record ...
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My Wife Is A Gangster breaks local Korean record
South Korean comedy My Wife Is A Gangster opened to phenomenal returns during Korea's 5-day Chusok holiday, filling cinemas to 94% capacity for a nationwide gross of $7.6m, and setting a new record for being the first local release to reach one million admissions in 5 days. Released by Korea ...
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South Korean film minister appointed
South Korean President Kim Dae Jung has appointed Namgung Jin to serve as his next Minister of Culture and Tourism, following the nomination of former Minister Kim Han-gill as a candidate in a local parliamentary election.Namgung, 59, worked previously as senior presidential secretary for political affairs before the President's cabinet ...
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Korean Film Commission awards production support
The Korean Film Commission (KOFIC) has announced the recipients of its second annual production support program for art and experimental films worth a total $1.6m. The program, which dispenses $320,000 each to three art films and $160,000 each to four experimental films, was inaugurated last year in an effort ...