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Inconsistency in Korean Box Office Results

Posted February. 18, 2003 22:44,   

한국어

˝No one knows how many people go to see movies.˝ Although Korean movies have grown enough to account for 50% of ticket sales, the film industry has yet to establish a working box office recording system.

The Committee for Better Film Distribution comprising members of the Korean Film Artists Council has been announcing the results of box office records every week. With the results merely used for the promotional purpose of certain movies, however, production companies are now pointing out the problem of estimating box office results.

CJ Entertainment and Columbia Pictures refused last week to disclose the results of ticket sales for their movies, and Korea Pictures and Walt Disney are expected to follow suit this week.

Since they are major film production and distribution companies, it will be impossible to set a box office record without their participation.

˝We cannot trust the data complied by the committee and the system is being abused for marketing purposes,˝ said Shin Seung-guen, marketing manager at CJ Entertainment. ˝We decided not to open our ticket sales record until the system become transparent.˝

They filed a complaint, asking the committee to address the way it estimates nationwide box office results. They point to that most areas, except Seoul and some major cities, do not have integrated computer systems and therefore, it is impossible to estimate how many people go to see movies across the country.

The committee has so far managed to come up with weekly results by using their private networks with theater owners or distributors. ˝The estimation is only for reference and is not reliable numbers,˝ admitted an official in the committee.

Due to the loose estimation system, `Joint Security Area, JSA` and `Shiri` were in a war of egos in 2001 for the country`s box office record title.

To address the concern by production companies, the committee is considering tallying the results only from Seoul, Busan, Daegu, Daejeon, Gwangju and Wulsan, which have integrated computer systems.

˝Statistics like ticket sales is the foundation of an industry, and the statistical system is an indicator how the industry is doing,˝ said industry insiders, calling for setting up of a nationwide computer system.



Soo-Kyung Kim skkim@donga.com