Cliffside Korean Film Industry, Collective Action After 15 Years... Launch of 'Distributor Alliance' by 7 Companies Including Showbox and NEW

Major domestic film distributors have formed a collective for the first time in 15 years to tackle the crisis in the film industry. On the 12th, seven distributors including Showbox, Film Company Big, Film Special City SMC, Ewha Baek Company, Triple Pictures, SY Comad, and NEW declared the official launch of the Distributor Alliance.

The Distributor Alliance stated that it was formed after 15 years since the Video Industry Association to overcome the intensified crisis in the film industry following COVID-19.

The alliance identified the issue of ticket discount contracts between the three major multiplex theater chains and major domestic telecommunications companies as the most urgent matter. It claims that the ticket discount costs provided by telecommunications companies to customers are ultimately passed on to production companies, investors, and distributors.

The Distributor Alliance analyzed that this structure is related to the current practice of counting box office success based on audience numbers and proposed the establishment of box office statistics based on revenue.

Additionally, the Distributor Alliance stated that it plans to actively express opinions on major issues in the film industry, such as the average ticket price issue and the holdback system. The holdback system refers to a system that allows a certain period of grace before a film is distributed to other platforms after its theatrical release.