Actor Park Jung-min's dual role movie 'Face' has topped the box office, stirring up the cinema scene. Released on September 22, 'Face' is currently riding the wave of explosive popularity fueled by the Japanese animated film 'Demon Slayer: Infinity Train', and attention is focused on whether Korean cinema can succeed in reversing the stagnant atmosphere.
According to the integrated ticket sales network of the Korean Film Council on the 17th, 'Face' drew 37,128 viewers the previous day, securing the top spot at the box office for two consecutive days. The cumulative audience count so far is 393,856. 'Face' tells the story of a blind craftsman in the field of traditional Korean lanterns, Lim Young-kyu (played by Kwon Hae-hyo and Park Jung-min), and his son Lim Dong-hwan (also played by Park Jung-min) as they unravel the mystery of their mother's death, buried for 40 years. The film is directed by Yeon Sang-ho, known for films such as 'Train to Busan' and 'Peninsula'.
Produced on a remarkably low budget of 200 million KRW (approximately 150,000 USD), 'Face' reportedly has a break-even point of around 300,000 admissions. However, the film surpassed this point within its opening week amidst critical and audience acclaim. It has received positive reactions in various aspects including the film's quality, acting, and message, achieving a high score of 94% on CGV's Golden Egg Index. Audiences have rated the film highly for its lingering impact, and multiple certifications of subsequent viewings are appearing online.
The success of 'Face' has been a refreshing boon to the Korean film industry, which has been struggling since the COVID-19 pandemic. With the ongoing strength of OTT platforms like Netflix, this year the film market has been even more subdued compared to last year. While two films, 'Parasite' (11.91 million viewers) and 'The Outlaws 4' (11.50 million viewers), have drawn over ten million viewers in the first half of last year, this year has seen a different scenario.
Prior to 'Face', only eight Korean films this year passed the break-even point, including 'Hitman 2', 'The Nun 2', 'Secret', 'Winning', 'Opposition', 'Shin Myung', 'Noise', and 'Zombie Daughter'. Among these, only 'Opposition' and 'Zombie Daughter' surpassed three million viewers. There were no films that crossed five million viewers. Anticipated for summer hits, 'All-Seeing Reader Point of View' and 'The Devil's Moves' were released, but garnered only 1.06 million and 430,000 viewers respectively, failing to turn the atmosphere around.
Against this backdrop, the release of 'Demon Slayer: Infinity Train' seemed to squash the footing of Korean cinema even further, but 'Face's success has somewhat relieved the situation.
The future also looks bright. 'Face' has just completed its first week of release, indicating potential for long-term success, while director Park Chan-wook's new film 'Can't Help It' is set to be released at the end of this month, leading in pre-sales with 229,752 tickets sold as of 1:31 PM on the 17th, achieving an overwhelming first place in reservation rates (41.6%). 'Can't Help It' will have its domestic premiere as the opening film at the 30th Busan International Film Festival starting today.