Submitted2024.05.08 21:00
Edit2024.05.08 22:10
70-80% theaters are in ‘Crime City 4’, which is going to be a 10 million movie.
The film industry criticizes, “Theaters don’t do anything in 5-10 minute periods… it’s too much. “
Many listeners… There was also an assessment “I don’t see a suitable opponent. ”
Multiple “It is organized mainly for films that are seen by a large audience.”
‘Crime City 4’ crossed 8 million viewers on the 6th, 13 days after its release. / Photo = News Although the ‘slack screening’ controversy was raised mostly in the film industry in relation to ‘Crime City 4’, which booked 10 million films, multiple companies said, “Screening is not it is artificial. He explained, “We mostly organize works of great public interest, but (with the exception of Crime City 4), we don’t see any works that deserve to be taken out.” in. ” This is an inevitable aspect due to the state of recently released films and the complex structure of the industry.
According to the integrated cinema ticket network on the 8th, ‘Crime City 4’ attracted 8,718,696 audiences from the previous day (the 7th). If this trend continues, it is expected to easily cross 10 million viewers, which was achieved just two weeks after it was released on the 24th of last month. Despite the box office performance, the film industry raised issues with ‘Crime City 4’. Lee Ha-young, CEO of Haha Films, who was a presenter at the ‘Debate for Restoration of Korean Film Ecosystem’ held recently at the Jeonju Central Visual Center, said, “Theaters are ruining the film industry by to arrange screening times. ‘Crime City 4’ in 5-10 minute increments. He said, “Isn’t it too much to do?”
It is noted that it is a problem that screens are too focused on certain films and that the focus should be on audience choice and diversity of films. Although this is a simple idea, the situation of multiples that need to make a profit is different. They give priority to films that are likely to be seen by the public and allocate screening theaters, but people complain that, except for ‘Crime City 4’, films are not suitable in seat sales rate and seat occupancy numbers for the 27th of last month, the first weekend of the release. Not only did ‘Crime City 4’ have a high seat occupancy rate, but also a high seat sales rate. / Source = Integrated computer network screen capture cinema admission ticket An official from Lotte Cultureworks, which operates Lotte Cinemas, said, “Distributors who are deciding when to release a movie may release on ‘Crime City’ to avoid, which is sure to be a box. the office hit a level when the fourth series was released. Comparing the ‘seat occupancy rate’ and ‘seat sales rate’ published on an integrated cinema ticketing network supports the definition of the multiplex. Seat occupancy is an indication of the percentage of theaters allocated by a cinema, and the rate of seat sales is an indication of how many audiences attended the film.
‘Crime City 4’ had a seat occupancy rate of around 85% for the first week after its release (April 24-30). This means that nine out of ten theaters were playing it. This ratio fell to the 70% range entering the second week (May 1-7), but it still accounts for the majority of the total. However, ‘Crime City 4’ also had a high seat sales rate. The first weekend after the release, it reached 40%. There were many screening halls, but the audience was also full. Even in the second week, the seat sales rate was higher than most films except the animation ‘Kung Fu Panda 4’, which was widely seen during the Children’s Day holiday (5 May).
In order for the screen monopoly logic to be strong, the seat share (supply) should be low due to the lack of ‘Crime City 4’ despite the high rate of seat sales (demand) of other films, but in reality, this was not the case. Of course, it is assumed that factors such as ‘Crime City 4’ being heavily allocated during screening times when many audiences were playing, but even taking this into account , the gap with films like ‘Stuntman’ and ‘Tha Challengers’ was huge. Multiples that suffered large losses during the period of COVID-19 (novel coronavirus disease) must urgently compensate for it. This is because it is a critical situation where local movie theaters that do not attract many audiences are closed to improve their financial structure. CJ CGV submitted an official letter requesting that the lease agreement be terminated, saying it would close the Nonhyeon branch in Incheon last February, and Lotte Cultureworks recently closed the Dunsan branch there the Daejeon.
An official in the cinema industry said, “The operational loss incurred during the COVID-19 period was very large. “We still have financial problems because we did not receive policy support or compensation according to the policy of closing cinemas at the time,” he explained. “It seems that the difficult reality facing multiplexes and the situations such as distributors changing the release dates of films have led to temporary controversy over poor sales. “
Since the entire film industry is in difficult times and the financial structure of movie theaters has declined, it is not easy to increase the proportion of diverse film arrangements or theaters dedicated to art films. They all agreed that the revival of Korean cinema is an urgent priority and that there is a need for consultation with movie theaters on the issue of screen bias that arose after ‘Crime City 4’. An official from CJ CGV said, “We take seriously the concerns of the film industry. However, the basic principle is to focus on works that are widely seen by the audience, so it is unusual to push a specific film,” he said, “A question that came first, the chicken or the egg, but as other films tried to avoid and release ‘Crime City 4’, it was difficult to allocate theaters.” There is also this angle. He said, “Since the programs are organized to show interest, I think the dispute will be resolved naturally as more diverse jobs come out. soon.”
Reporter Kim Bong-gu of Hankyung.com kbk9@hankyung.com
