Fueled by the box office success of hit Korean films like "The King's Warden" and "COLONY," South Korea's box office revenue has recovered to 94.2% of pre-pandemic levels.
According to the Korean Film Council on the 29th, total theater sales for the first half of 2026 reached 579 billion KRW, with 57.05 million moviegoers, marking increases of 41.9% (171.1 billion KRW) and 34.2% (14.55 million viewers), respectively, compared to the same period last year.
Korean films drove the box office boom this year. Korean film sales hit 370.2 billion KRW, and attendance reached 37.37 million, up 81.7% and 74.9%, respectively, from the same period last year. This marks the highest first-half performance for Korean films since the pandemic, recovering to 94.2% of the pre-pandemic first-half average in revenue.
In contrast, foreign films recorded 208.8 billion KRW in sales and 19.68 million moviegoers. Although attendance dropped by 6.9% year-on-year, sales saw a slight increase of 2.3%, driven by the popularity of special-screening heavy titles such as "Project Hail Mary" and "Avatar: Fire and Ash." Special screenings accounted for 30.2% of total sales for "Project Hail Mary" and 49.9% for "Avatar: Fire and Ash."
Topping the overall box office for the first half was "The King's Warden," which recorded 163.1 billion KRW in sales and 16.91 million viewers, claiming the number one spot in all-time box office revenue. "COLONY" followed in second place, and "Salmokji: Whispering Water" in third, with Korean films sweeping the top ranks of the first-half box office. Beyond historical dramas and action blockbusters, mid- and small-scale works in romance and horror genres also achieved notable success.
Total sales for special screenings in the first half reached 45.7 billion KRW, up 56.3% from the same period last year. Special screenings accounted for 7.9% of total first-half sales, and the average ticket price for the first half rose by 551 KRW year-on-year to 10,150 KRW.
In distributor rankings, Showbox took the number one spot with a 48.6% market share in first-half sales, distributing a total of four films: "The King's Warden," "COLONY," "Salmokji: Whispering Water," and "Once We Were Us." Walt Disney Company Korea took second place, distributing films including "Avatar: Fire and Ash."
"The Backrooms," a low-budget horror film based on an internet creepypasta, ranked first in independent and art film box office performance for the first half, recording 12.4 billion KRW in sales and 1.16 million moviegoers, followed by "Ran 12.3" and "My Name" in second and third place, respectively.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kim Ji-hye)
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