All articles by Darcy Paquet – Page 5
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Korea launches real time box office tracking service
South Korea is to launch a new web-based box office tracking system, similar to recently developed industry tools: Nielsen EDI's FLASH and Rentrack's Box Office Essentials data collecting services.The system, due to be launched in May, is being orchestrated by the newly-renamed Korean Film Council (KOFIC), which took over the ...
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CJ plays it both ways in South Korea
South Korea's distribution sector looks set for a major realignment, with CJ Entertainment announcing plans to invest in both halves of soon-to-be-split rival Plenus Entertainment.CJ's initial focus will be on the internet/game business, part of its efforts to expand into a "total entertainment company" encompassing film, exhibition, cable TV, and ...
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South Korea mulls substantial film tax breaks
South Korea's Ministry of Finance And Economy has introduced plans to expand its system of tax breaks for small and medium-sized firms in the service sector to include the film industry.The changes, if ratified by Korea's National Assembly later this year, will grant a five-year, 50% reduction in corporate taxes ...
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Korean cinema surges on back of Taegukgi, Silmido
Korean cinema recorded an 82.5% market share in February, setting a new monthly record on the back of a record-breaking performance by Korean War film Taegukgi.According to a report by investment/distribution company IM Pictures, the Kang Je-gyu-directed Taegukgi amassed a 52% share of the market all by itself, while Cinema ...
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New distributor launches in South Korea
Lotte Cinema, which operates one of South Korea's three major multiplex chains, has announced its long-speculated move into film distribution.The company, headed by CEO Kim Kwang-seop, is scheduled to release its first film Naduya Ganda in May. Another 3-4 titles are expected to be announced by the end of June.Lotte, ...
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Cinema Service opens shop in Japan
South Korean major Cinema Service has announced plans to establish a branch office in Tokyo to directly distribute its films into Japan.To be named Cinema Service Japan, the company will be established by June and will initially co-distribute with other local film companies. Within five years the office intends ...
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Asian film commissions join forces to attract shoots
A group of leading film commissions from Asia have agreed to join together in a regional network to be called the Asian Film Commissions Network (AFCNet).The network intends to make it easier for local and international productions to shoot throughout the region by promoting co-operation among member film commissions, encouraging ...
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Korea looks to crowded spring release schedule
For full listings click HERESouth Korea has seen a large number of films wrap shooting last month, foreshadowing a crowded release schedule in late spring.The list includes a number of Cannes hopefuls, such as arthouse favourite Hong Sang-soo's fifth feature Woman Is The Future Of Man. Having two ...
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Korean war epic is multiple record-breaker
Kang Je-gyu's Korean War epic Taegukgi is enjoying a record-breaking opening in its native country, becoming South Korea's first film ever to reach 2 million admissions ($11.3m) in five days.Released by distributor Showbox on February 5 on a record 443 prints, the film has already broken the territory's records for ...
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Korean industry stunned as top production houses merge
A major re-alignment is set to sweep the South Korean production sector, as leading production houses KangJegyu Films and Myung Films have been acquired by local manufacturing company Seshin Buffalo.The companies will be re-launched as a merged entity called MK Buffalo in April.MK Buffalo will become the first film-related company ...
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South Korean cinema scores record market share
South Korean cinema recorded a 53% local market share in 2003 - the strongest on record - according to a report just released by the Korean Film Commission (KOFIC).The nationwide figure is an estimate based on a 49.7% local market share for Seoul (where accurate figures are more readily available, ...
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Spirit of Bruce Lee conquers Korean box office
A 1970s-set film about high school violence has taken hold of the South Korean box-office, drawing 800,000 admissions ($4.5m) on 270 screens in its first three days.Spirits Of Jeet Kune Do: Once Upon A Time In High School, the film by poet-director Yu Ha (Marriage Is A Crazy Thing) portrays ...
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Cinema Service splits from Plenus parent
Cinema Service, one of the two major distributors that dominate the South Korean film market, has announced plans to separate from its parent company Plenus Entertainment.In a public announcement to the Korean KOSDAQ stock exchange, Plenus Entertainment announced, "A formal separation with Cinema Service [...] is currently underway, and the ...
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Samaria set for Berlin competition
Controversial director Kim Ki-duk's 10th film Samaria has been selected to screen in the competition section of the 54th Berlin International Film Festival, according to local press reports in South Korea.Berlin is expected to announce further elements of its competition line-up today (Jan 15). Other titles tipped at press time ...
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South Korean blockbuster smashes local records
South Korean blockbuster Silmido has set a new box-office record by passing four million admissions only 15 days after its December 24 release.The speed past that mark beats by a day the performance of The Return Of The King - which itself has passed five million admissions - and significantly ...
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Korea's CJ Entertainment names new CEO
A reshuffle at South Korean conglomerate Cheil Jedang will see Park Dong-ho become the new CEO of local major CJ Entertainment.Park, who has served as head of Korea's biggest cinema circuit CJ CGV since August 2000, will retain his old position while also assuming responsibility for CJ Entertainment's investment, distribution, ...
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South Korean quota system wins temporary reprieve
South Korea's filmmakers have secured a temporary respite in their efforts to maintain the nation's Screen Quota system. In a press conference on November 21, members of the South Korean film industry announced the results of a three-hour meeting with Korean president Roh Moo-hyun concerning the quota issue. ...
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South Korean censors kill Bill's roll out plans
South Korea's Media Ratings Board has slapped an effective ban on Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill: Volume 1, causing uproar among the film community and throwing local distributor CJ Entertainment's plans for a November 21 release into doubt.Cited by the board for its excessive violence and gore, the film was given ...
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Kim Ki-duk starts Samaria shoot
South Korean director Kim Ki-duk has started shooting on his 10th film, a low-budget revenge story titled Samaria. Produced by Kim Ki-duk Films and financed by local distributor Show East, the film tells the story of a man who discovers that his teenage daughter is selling sexual favours to middle-aged ...
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South Korean production update
For the latest South Korean production details - see International Production ListingsThe South Korean production sector's push towards dramas and romantic comedies appears to be intensifying, following the box-office failure of big-budget genre pictures in recent years. This trend peaked in September with the box-office crash of Natural ...