First-Half Theater Ticket Sales More Than Double Year-on-Year, Reaching Record High Since 2014

▲ A scene from the play 'Spirited Away'

Driven by the popularity of major global intellectual property (IP) productions, ticket sales for plays in the first half of this year have more than doubled compared to the same period last year.

According to data from the Performing Arts Integrated Computer Network, the total ticket sales for the theater genre in the first half of this year amounted to approximately 75.9 billion won.

This figure is more than double that of the same period last year and marks the highest level since the agency began tracking data in 2014.

First-half theater ticket sales have been hitting record highs annually in recent years, recording 11.56 billion won in 2021, 17.21 billion won in 2022, 33.29 billion won in 2023, and 34.26 billion won in 2024.

However, such a sharp growth of more than two-fold is considered exceptional.

Analysts attribute this to the success of large-scale global productions with high ticket prices.

The production with the highest total ticket sales this year was the Seoul performance of the Japanese original tour of 'Spirited Away'.

The second-highest was the Seoul performance of the overseas licensed play 'Life of Pi', which premiered in the United Kingdom.

Ticket prices for these two productions, which were staged at large theaters such as the Seoul Arts Center and LG Arts Center, ranged from 90,000 to 190,000 won and 60,000 to 160,000 won, respectively.

In contrast, the Korean play 'French Safe', which ranked third in total ticket sales, had prices ranging from 55,000 to 77,000 won, while the fourth-ranked 'The Merchant of Venice' ranged from 44,000 to 110,000 won.

In its first-quarter report, the Korea Arts Management Service analyzed that "large-scale global productions succeeded at the box office despite high ticket prices, breaking the stereotype that 'plays are an inexpensive genre' and demonstrating for the first time the potential for developing a high-priced theater market."

However, it explained that "theater market ticket sales were concentrated on the top 10 performances," adding that "the growth generated by large-scale performances does not appear to have spread to the small-theater play market."

In the first half of this year, total ticket sales for musicals saw a slight decrease compared to the same period last year, while classical Western music saw a slight increase.

Musical ticket sales stood at 223.22 billion won, showing a continuous decline since two years ago.

Classical Western music recorded 40.38 billion won, which is an increase from the 36.12 billion won recorded last year, but it has not recovered to the 47.37 billion won level seen in the first half of 2024.

Meanwhile, ticket sales for traditional Korean music and dance were 2.04 billion won and 7.67 billion won, respectively, showing a slight decrease compared to last year.

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