Korea’s multiplexes have been seeking different ways to pull audiences back to cinemas. In the 2010s, Korea’s film industry was not only growing but it was booming attracting over 200 million viewers to theaters between 2012 and 2019. Over half of these admissions were to Korean films. Going to the cinema was a regular activity for not only younger audiences but older viewers too. Before the pandemic, Koreans were visiting the cinema on average 4.37 times per year, the highest in the world when total admissions peaked at 226.68 million.  Therefore, despite Korea’s smaller population compared to China, India and Japan, it was one of the leading industries in the region. 

Then in 2020, almost immediately after Parasite (2019) won Best Picture at the Academy Awards putting the industry under the global spotlight, Covid-19 forced audiences to stay at home leaving cinemas and films starved of revenue.  Streaming platforms were able to take advantage of this new world and viewing habits have not returned to pre-pandemic norms. Netflix is now a key player in Korea’s content industry – audience numbers have plummeted (there were 123.1m admissions in 2024 and just 42.5m in the first half of 2025) while subscribers to OTT platforms have risen.  According to WiseApp and Retail, as of January 2025 the number of App users in Korea for Netflix stood at 14.2 million, while for Coupang Play it was 7.6 million. Other streamers were as follows: Tving (6.3 million), Wavve (2.7m) and Disney+ (2.4m).

The multiplexes led by CGV, Lotte Cinemas and Megabox have responded. Premium formats been a significant driver of business. 46 percent of the total box office revenue for Dune: Part Two (2024) in Korea was generated through 4D, IMAX, Screen X and Dolby Cinema formats. The number of screens equipped with more expensive formats (4DX, Screen X, IMAX, Dolby Atmos, Superplex among others including Cine kids and recliner seating) have increased more than threefold from 382 in 2020 to 1,152 in 2025. While the number of total screens has decreased over the last two years (from 3,322 in 2022 to 3,296 in 2025), what is revealing is the drop in the number of seats. It peaked at 470,380 in 2021 but saw a continued decline in the years that followed dropping to 437,975 in 2025, the lowest number of seats since 2017. The multiplexes have adapted to the changing ecosystem.

There are screens fitted with fewer but more comfortable seats, while the exhibitors have also turned to other ways utilizing the big screens and high ceilings to lure visitors back to their theaters; from Screen Golf in CGV’s Songpa, Seoul to climbing walls in CGV’s Piccadilly cinema in Jongno central Seoul. Moreover, the owner of Megabox, Contentree JoongAng acquired Playtime Group in 2022 that owned indoor playgrounds in 190 locations.  The acquisition further illustrates how the multiplexes were seeing their cinemas as not just a place to view films but as a wider cultural space where visitors of different ages can engage in a range of activities. This in turn could help drive cinemagoing with people opting to also watch a film.

Distributors and exhibitors are also seeking to attract moviegoers using merchandise and theme cafes in an effort to make going to the cinema an exclusive event that can’t be replicated at home through streaming. 

Merchandise 

Merchandise has been part of film going for decades. Blockbuster as event films have benefited from toys, games, gadgets and other products that have come out ahead and during the release of tentpoles. In the post-pandemic era, studios have brought out exclusive merchandise for a number of titles that has helped box office sales. Far from the expensive blockbusters, many of these films are less expensive features.

The release of Min Kyu-dong’s The Old Woman with the Knife (2024) about an elderly female assassin played by Lee Hye-young generated early interest when it was announced that merchandise (a “goods event,” the Korean term for limited-edition giveaways) would be given to viewers at exclusive showings. Such screenings immediately sold out and viewers at the cinema got their hands on items such as a key ring featuring the protagonist’s dog. The film sold 550,000 tickets. 

Although merchandise alone can’t turn a film into a hit, it’s part of wider strategy to try and change viewing habits that is central to get audience numbers back to where they were in 2019. Interestingly, merchandise is enticing audiences to watch the same film on multiple occasions as fandom is building for certain titles like Lee Won-suk’s Killing Romance (2023) and Nam Dong-hyeob’s Handsome Guys (2024). This echoes some of the fandom seen in the K-pop industry - all be it on a much larger scale - with fans purchasing physical albums and merchandise in huge numbers with more than 100 million physical albums sold in 2023. 

 

 

Fans become supporters of the film online as titles play longer giving them further longevity at the box office. Akin to the release of Korean films on physical media that sometimes include meticulously crafted memorabilia, the merchandise is not designed to be given to large numbers of people but a select few.

 

The multiplexes also have their own merchandise known as “Signature Merchandise” that comes in the form of a specially designed ticket that are appealing to collectors and cinephiles who want a physical ticket with many tickets now acquired digitally. CGV has its TTT (That’s The Ticket), Lotte Cinema has put together its “Signature Art Card”,  Megabox has crafted its “Original Ticket” and CineQ also has its “Special Ticket.”

 

 

Exhibitors have also created other forms of merchandise. Following the release of Hwang Byeong-gug’s Yadang: The Snitch (2024) in the spring of this year that follows a prosecutor (Kang Ha-neul) who becomes a narcotics informant, Megabox designed matches and a golden lighter to give selected viewers during Korea’s “Golden Holiday” in early May — a time when several public holidays fall in close succession. The film is currently the most successful Korean title in 2025 having accrued more than 3.4 million tickets.  It is also the first R-rated Korean film to hit 3 million admissions since 2019. 

 

 

Lotte Cultureworks that encompasses Lotte Cinemas and Lotte Entertainment – it’s distribution arm – has been pivoting towards the wider cultural industry in recent years. It has released concert films through Lotisful including j-hope IN THE BOX and SUGA: Road to D-Day (2023).

 

In one of their premium screens called “Gwang-eun Cinema” that features 4K laser projection and immersive sound, its upcoming lineup includes films and concert films such as the concert tour live viewing of BTS’ Jin #RUNSEOKJIN_ EP. TOUR in AMSTERDAM: LIVE VIEWING underscoring its commitment to the evolving and expanding ecosystem.   

 

Its focus on its cinemas as cultural spaces is evident at its flagship multiplex, World Tower located in Jamsil, Seoul as it puts the spotlight on the recent success of the Korean animation Exorcism Chronicles: The Beginning (2025) through an exhibition and pop up store. There is also a themed café where customers are offered Exorcism Chronicles-themed deserts as well as beverages including Father Park’s Seongsu Matcha Latte, referring to one of the film’s leading characters.  The film directed by Kim Dong-chul that sold 500,000 tickets on its first theatrical run is based on the novel Toemarok by Lee Woo-hyeok and follows a doctor-turned-priest who is excommunicated by a church for performing exorcisms.

 

The exhibition features artworks from the film and visitors are also offered gifts such as postcards and bottles with logos from the feature.  The film is being re-released exclusively at Lotte’s cinema in the World Tower and the exhibition continues until August 17^th.

 

It comes as Korean animation is entering an interesting phase – along with that of animation in the global film industry – following the success of this title, and the Netflix – Sony Pictures Animation K-pop Demon Hunters (2025) that is sweeping the globe. Bong Joon Ho’s next film The Valley (working title) is an animation.

 

This latest exhibition follows others that included a project collaboration with the webtoon platform Bomtoon as the industry turns its focus on IP and transmedia content that can span webtoons, films, dramas and animations.

 

With Lotte Cultureworks and Megabox looking to merge after a memorandum of understanding was signed in May, this creates an interest dynamic not only in terms of film distribution and finance but also exhibition as they can bring together their spaces as they seek to attract viewers back to the cinemas.  

Written by Jason Bechervaise

Edited by kofic