Overcoming First Half Slump, Second Half Recovery...KOFIC Announces 2025 Korean Film Industry Report

In 2025, the Korean film market showed signs of recovery in the second half after overcoming the slump in the first half, maintaining an annual revenue of 1 trillion won and an audience count of 100 million.

According to the '2025 Korean Film Industry Report' released by the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) on the 27th, the total box office revenue last year was 1.047 trillion won, and the total audience count was 100.609 million. This represents a decrease of 12.4% and 13.8% compared to the previous year, respectively, but it successfully maintained the 1 trillion won revenue and 100 million audience count for four consecutive years since 2022.

According to KOFIC, the Korean film market faced difficulties last year due to a lack of hit films in the first half, but the distribution of movie ticket discount coupons implemented at the end of July became a turning point. In the second half, major foreign films such as 〈Zootopia 2〉, 〈Demon Slayer: Mugen Train〉, and 〈Avatar: The Way of Water〉 continued to perform well, along with the Korean film 〈Zombie Daughter〉, supporting the market size. In particular, foreign films recorded a revenue of 627.9 billion won, growing 24.7% compared to the previous year, capturing a 60% market share and surpassing Korean films. In contrast, the revenue of Korean films plummeted to 419.1 billion won, a 39.4% decrease compared to the previous year, and for the first time since 2012 (excluding the pandemic), no film reached 10 million admissions.

Although the total audience count decreased, the change in viewing patterns was evident. Revenue from special screenings centered around premium theaters surged to 111 billion won, a 46.3% increase compared to the previous year. This is analyzed as a result of the strengthened preference for 'experiential viewing' in special environments where high-quality content like 〈Avatar: The Way of Water〉 and 〈F1: The Movie〉 can only be enjoyed in theaters. Due to the expansion of special screenings, the average ticket price rose slightly to 9,869 won compared to the previous year, but the average annual viewing frequency per person decreased to 2.08 times, down from 2.40 times the previous year.

Despite the contraction of the Korean market, the export of Korean films achieved remarkable results. The export value of completed Korean films reached 50.28 million dollars, a 19.9% increase compared to the previous year. In particular, the continued progress in Southeast Asian countries such as Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, and Vietnam once again proved the global competitiveness of Korean content. The independent and art film sector also maintained a stable trend, with the revenue of Korean independent and art films increasing slightly by 1.1% compared to the previous year.