'The Match' achieves success through social media buzz

The Match, which tells the story of Go players Cho Hun-hyun and Lee Chang-ho, is nearing the break-even point, with over 1.69 million viewers as of April 12, just shy of the 1.8 million mark. The film was delayed for more than two years due to actor Yoo Ah-in’s drug scandal. However, since its release on March 26, it has remained at the top of the box office, driven by strong word-of-mouth.

Distributed by BY4M Studio, a new film distribution company that entered the industry in 2022, The Match is one of several films the company has released successfully. In addition to The Match, BY4M has found success by acquiring so-called "warehouse movies" — films shelved due to the pandemic, such as The Firefighters (released late last year), or those struggling to find distributors due to actor-related issues. In the film industry, the term "BY4M mystery" has emerged.

BY4M's recent success is an anomaly in the Korean film industry, which has been going through a dry spell in terms of anticipated films. For the third consecutive year, no Korean films have been selected for the competition section at the Cannes Film Festival. Even the highly anticipated Dark Nuns, starring Song Hye-kyo, barely broke even, attracting only 1.67 million viewers.

The film industry credits BY4M’s success to its effective marketing strategy. Rather than aiming for major box-office hits, the company targeted mid-level successes, aiming for audience numbers between 2 million and 5 million, while actively using social media. About 40% of their total marketing budget was invested after the film's release, and they quickly adjusted their social media promotional content based on audience feedback.

For example, in the case of The Match, actress Lee Min-jung — the real-life wife of Lee Byung-hun (who played Cho Hun-hyun) — helped create a “viral enabler” effect through a series of YouTube Shorts. Short clips highlighting the film’s best scenes and quotes were shared on Instagram and TikTok, which helped promote the movie.

The company also worked to minimize the impact of the actor controversy, using posters for The Match that featured only Lee Byung-hun in the foreground, without Yoo Ah-in.

“There were some negative factors, but I believed the film could succeed depending on the marketing strategy,” said Han Sang-il, head of BY4M’s film and drama division. "The industry can recover only if there are diverse kinds of movies that can make a decent profit."

Some critics have argued that viral marketing has gone too far. “Excessive marketing can create a system where good movies fail and bad ones survive,” said a representative from a film production company. On the other hand, film critic Jeong Ji-wook said, “Both The Match and The Firefighters had a certain level of quality, which is why audiences chose them. The real test will be the kinds of projects BY4M chooses to take on next.”


이호재 hoho@donga.com