‘Wonderland’ Flops + Insider Says Korean Cinema’s Downturn Signals Shutdown of Theaters

Is Korea's film industry experiencing a crisis?

Suzy and Park Bo Gum's movie "Wonderland," which was expected to generate high sales, failed to hit the target number of moviegoers. This, according to an insider, signals the potential shutdown of theaters.

'Wonderland' Flops, Insider Mentions Closure of Theaters

Fantasy-romance movie "Wonderland" became the center of discussion online, highlighting its failure to generate millions of viewers in cinemas. It can be recalled that many anticipated this project as it is headlined by some of the biggest names in the industry.

However, despite Suzy and Park Bo Gum teaming up for the silver screen project, "Wonderland" reportedly flopped for various reasons.

According to a movie insider, moviegoers nowadays have declining numbers. An official elaborated that when you go to the movie theater once, it will cost 30,000 krw (22 USD), which is the equivalent of a subscription to Netflix, where you can watch anything for a month.

They mentioned that the special summer movie theater prices have completely disappeared. Even films featuring top actors, such as "The Outlaws 4," which attracted 10 million viewers, are suffering defeats one after another.

They said that with the universalization of online streaming services like Netflix, movie theaters are shutting down.

"Wonderland," starring Tang Wei, Park Bo Gum, Suzy, and more, failed to gain 1 million moviegoers, signaling a downturn. Gong Yoo, Jung Yumi, and Choi Woo Sik also participated in the movie.

Despite the sensational interest in the actors, this did not translate into box office success, leaving them in a situation where even reaching 1 million viewers seems difficult.

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An official from CJ CGV said, "The losses are substantial, leading to inevitable closures."

Since audiences are significantly decreasing, more and more movie theaters are shutting down.

CJ CGV, which owns the biggest multiplex theaters in the country, recently closed its CGV Incheon branch, following the closure of CGV Wonju.

Lotte Cinema is also reportedly planning to close its branch in Daejeon.

Netizens also shared their honest thoughts about the ongoing problem in Korean cinema.

• "Their problems will be solved just by lowering the ticket prices."
• "There are talks about how 'Wonderland' was so boring that even if you get paid, they won't watch it. If the prices were cheap, maybe I would've considered watching."
• "In the past, whenever you were bored, you would go watch a movie, but nowadays, nobody will go to the movie theater."
• "Seeing how well 'Exhuma' was received, this is definitely the movie's issue. If it was fun, people would go watch it."
• "If they weren't even able to fill 1 million seats. It just means the movie was boring."

What are your thoughts on this situation?

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Shai San Miguel wrote this.