Box Office Crash: Korean Cinemas Down by a Third at Half Year Mark
Movie ticket prices continue to weaken as market is reshaped
Far from recovering, South Korea’s cinema box office dropped by a third in the first six months of this year compared with the same period in 2024.
That stands in contrast to the trend in North America where gross box office is up 15% year-on-year, and in China where, after a bumper Lunar New Year season, six month revenue is essentially flat.
Korea’s nationwide cinema attendances amounted to 42.5 million in the first half of 2025, according to data from Kobis, the tracking agency operated by the Korean Film Council (KOFIC). That is a 32% drop compared with 62.9 million between January and the end of June 2024.
In revenue terms, Korean cinemas earned gross ticket sales income of KRW407 billion, compared with KRW 610 billion. That is a 33% drop.
The plunge puts 2025 back close to the levels of 2022, a year in which the post-COVID recovery was getting underway and when cinemas were heavily restricted between January and April.
Compared with 2019, the last pre-pandemic year, this year’s first half is a shocking 62% down in ticket sales terms and a yawning 47% down in revenue.
The difference between the two measures reflects a degree of ticket price inflation over the six-year span, a changing mix within multiplexes towards premium screens (IMAX, SDS, 4DX etc.) and the closure of some under-performing halls.
Two films dispute the 2025 crown. Korean-made “Yadang The Snitch” has sold the most tickets (3.38 million), for revenue of $23.6 million. “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” sold fractionally fewer tickets (23.6 million), but has a higher revenue total of $24.3 million, reflecting premium pricing for the Tom Cruise spectacular.
Neither, however, is even close to the traditional Korean definition of a blockbuster, which is usually pegged at 10 million ticket sales. In comparison, last year had two blockbusters, both Korean-produced, the supernatural thriller “Exhuma” and action comedy “The Roundup – Punishment.”
Similarly, and at a more macro level, the first six months of 2025 has only seen one weekend when box office revenue exceeded $10 million – the 6-8 June weekend which hit $11.3 million, powered by the $4.1 million opening of “How to Train Your Dragon.” In 2024, the first half counted nine $10 million weekends and the full year 21.
Korean cinemas controversially increased their prices during COVID, in order to stem their losses, they said. But their pricing power is now steadily being eroded as the market gets weaker.
Mean ticket prices in 2022 were KRW10,357 and fell to KRW10,088 in 2023. Last year they slipped below the KRW10,000 mark to KRW9,707 and are down to KRW9,576 in the first half of 2025.
It remains to be seen whether the merger of Lotte Cinemas and Megabox, respectively Korea’s second and third largest cinema operators, can steady the market and re-establish ticket price stability. The move may instead allow screens in competing catchment areas to be eliminated and for the merged operator to reduce costs.
Cinemas also face the prospect of competition from a new Korean streaming giant formed by the merger of Tving (controlled by CJ ENM) and Wavve (currently structured as a joint venture between terrestrial broadcasters KBS, MBC and SBS, and telecom operator SKT). The merger was ostensibly hatched to counter the dominance of Netflix.
Korea’s Fair Trade Commission approved the merger proposal last month, but fretted about price hikes. As a condition of approval, it insisted that Tving and Wavve hold their subscription fees at current levels until the end of 2026.
While that may be good for online consumers, it does not help the case for Korean cinemas.