South Korean cinema has maintained a 44% market share in Seoul through the end of September, according to figures released this week by the Korean Film Commission (KOFIC). Overall admissions were up 16.4% on the same period last year, despite what was viewed as a disappointing summer season.

Hollywood features accounted for a 49.1% market share to date, with Japanese cinema riding the success of Spirited Away - the most successful Japanese film ever released in Korea - to a 3.7% share. All other countries accounted for only 3.3%, down from 6.2% last year.

The strong performance of local cinema compares to a 39.9% level over the same period last year, when an exceptionally strong fourth quarter pushed the year-end total to 46%. Although no film from 2002 has approached the box-office record set by last year's Friend ($44m nationwide), increased production and a strong crop of mid-level hits have kept overall figures strong.

A remarkable 67 Korean films have been released in the first three quarters of 2002, compared to 35 over the same period last year. This already marks the highest level of production since 1992, when 96 films were released.

To date, Korean films account for the two highest-grossing films of the year in gangster comedy Marrying The Mafia ($22m) and low-budget hit The Way Home ($20.5m). These films' respective distributors, Cinema Service and CJ Entertainment, also top the latest distributor rankings with 21.4% and 18% respectively (see below).

Seoul distributor rankings, Jan 1 - Sep 30, 2002

1. Cinema Service, 21.4% (17 films)
2. CJ Entertainment, 18% (21 films)
3. Col Tristar, 11.2% (15 films)
4. 20th Fox, 10.9% (16 films)
5. BVI, 9.1% (16 films)
6. Warner Bros., 6.1% (12 films)
7. Korea Pictures, 5.3% (6 films)
8. A-Line, 4.9% (9 films)
9. Cineworld, 4.1% (8 films)
10. Big Blue Films, 3.5% (5 films)
11. UIP, 2.9% (11 films)

Source: KOFIC. Based on Seoul admissions.

Top 10 films in South Korea to October 20 (admissions)

1. Marrying The Mafia (Korea) Sep 13 / 4,434,686
2. The Way Home (Korea) Apr 5 / 4,091,000
3. Lord Of The Rings (US) Jan 1** / 3,873,300
4. Minority Report (US) Jul 26 / 3,379,000
5. Public Enemy (Korea) Jan 25 / 2,987,900
6. Spider-Man (US) May 4 / 2,901,821
7. 2009 Lost Memories (Korea) Feb 1 / 2,263,800
8. Phone (Korea) Jul 26 / 2,182,915
9. Men In Black II (US) Jul 11 / 1,993,781
10.Spirited Away (Japan) Jun 28 / 1,951,332