Moviegoers buy tickets at a CGV theater in Seoul. File. Photo by Yonhap News Agency
Feb. 27 (Asia Today) — Revenue and admissions for South Korean films plunged about 40% in 2025 from a year earlier, according to industry data released Thursday, underscoring ongoing challenges for the domestic box office.
The Korean Film Council said in its annual industry report that total theater revenue reached 1.047 trillion won ($785 million) last year, while total admissions stood at 106.09 million, down 12.4% and 13.8% respectively from 2024.
The industry narrowly maintained the 1 trillion won and 100 million admissions thresholds, helped by a string of late-year hits including “Zombie Daughter,” “F1: The Movie,” “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Infinity Castle,” “Zootopia 2” and “Avatar: Fire and Ash.”
However, Korean films alone saw a much steeper decline.
Domestic titles generated 419.1 billion won ($314 million) in revenue and drew 43.58 million viewers, down 39.4% and 39.0% from a year earlier. Their market share fell to around 40%, and no Korean film surpassed 10 million admissions in 2025.
In contrast, foreign films posted revenue of 627.9 billion won ($471 million) and 62.51 million admissions, up 24.7% and 21.0% year-on-year.
Special format screenings such as IMAX and 4D recorded 110 billion won ($82 million) in revenue, up 46.3% from 75.9 billion won the previous year. The average number of cinema visits per person declined to 2.08 from 2.40.
The export value of completed Korean films rose 19.9% to $50.28 million, driven largely by demand in Asian markets including Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia and Vietnam.
The council said overall theater visits declined, but audiences showed a stronger tendency toward selective viewing of major titles, suggesting a more concentrated box office environment.
— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI
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Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260227010008420