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The Korean film grabbing the best results overseas is no other than Snowpiercer (2013). Since it’s Korean release last August 1st, and the subsequent releases in France (Oct. 30th, 2013), Hong Kong (No. 28th, 2013) and Thailand (Dec. 5th, 2013), the film was released in over 20 countries including China, the U.S., Japan and Italy in 2014. As of December, 2014, the overall sales except for Korea scored USD 26.66 million. Its investor/distributor CJ E&M recouped around half of its production costs through pre-sales, earning them approximately USD 18 million (KRW 20 billion).

The most enthusiastic country for Snowpiercer is China. During the first week of its release on March 17th, Snowpiercer which took second place in the local box office after Need for Speed earned approximately USD 11 million, taking 40% of overseas earnings. The second highest grossing market is France in its earnings of USD 5.31 million, the most successful box office sales for a Korean film theatrically released in France. This summer (June 27th) saw USD 4.56 million in the North American market, and USD 1.26 million in Italy which had its release on February 27th. With pre-sales to 167 countries, Snowpiercer will be expecting earnings from over 100 territories.

One aspect that falls short of expectations is Snowpiercer’s box office record in the North American market. The film’s North American distributor, The Weinstein Company demanded 20 minutes to be cut out before its release which director BONG Joon Ho refused. Subsequently Harvey Weinstein sent out a clear message that Snowpiercer will distributed on a small scale art house basis by tossing its distribution to affiliate company specializing in VOD distribution ‘Radius-TWC’. Although the film which managed to expand the number of screens to 356 during a course of 3 weeks after started out in 8 venues had to close without once entering the local box office top ten list. If only The Weinstein Company secured a wide release on over 2,000 screens, the film might have earned between USD 30-40 million in the North American market. Despite a slightly disappointing outcome in the box office, the film fully generated rave reviews from critics. Rottentomatoes.com’s tomatometer rated the film at 90% while Metacritic.com gave it a score of 84.

 

CJ E&M has shown consistency in their direct distribution as well. In 2014, CJ E&M has directly distributed around ten titles including Roaring Currents, Miss Granny, The Fatal Encounter, No Tears for the Dead and The Divine Move to the North American market. In the case of Roaring Currents, despite its small scale release, the film ran for over ten weeks, earning USD 2.59 million in ticket sales. Up till then, the highest grossing ‘Korean language’ film released in North America was the Sony Classics-distributed 2004 film by director KIM Ki-duk, Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring which recorded USD 2.38 million. As the first record-breaker to come out in a decade, Roaring Currents’ outcome in the Chinese market with its December release is the subject of keen interest. Meanwhile, CJ E&M has directly distributed Miss Granny and Broken to Japan.

 

Other films to have reaped favorable results in the North American market are The Attorney (2013) with USD 560 thousand, The Pirates with USD 420 thousand, KUNDO: Age of the Rampant with USD 280 thousand, and The Suspect (2013) with USD 220 thousand in earnings which all shared ‘Well Go USA, Inc.’ as their U.S. distributor.

 

The film that enjoyed popularity in the Asian market was KIM Dae-woo’s Obsessed (2013). The explicit melodramatic performance by SONG Seung-heon who gained stardom as a Hallyu (Korean Wave) star with popular TV drama Autumn Tale may have served as the appealing point for Asian fans. The film was released and acquired popularity in the order of Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, and Japan during the second half of this year. Hwayi: A Monster Boy (2013) and Broken were released in Hong Kong and Japan, The Face Reader (2013) in Taiwan and Japan, The Terror, Live (2013) and The Attorney in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Horror film Mourning Grave displayed the strength of Korean genre films with its release in Hong Kong and Singapore. Low-budget independent films including A Girl at My Door and HAN Gong-ju received special attention with their release in France. Other films such as KIM Ki-duk’s Moebius (2013) in the U.S. and Great Britain, and ONE ON ONE in Italy slowly gained popularity, proving the ongoing name value of director KIM Ki-duk in Europe.

 

When looking at the Korean films that were invited to international film festivals, firstly, among the three major film festivals, Korean films were especially strong at Berlin. The two documentaries in the Forum section: JUNG Yoon-suk’s Non Fiction Diary and Kelvin Kyung Kun PARK’s A Dream of Iron both received NETPAC awards. In the Generation section, YOON Ga-eun’s Sprout received the Crystal Bear Trophy for best short film. The two thrillers invited to Cannes Film Festival’s Directors’ Fortnight, A Hard Day and The Target attracted sizable attention. Given that Korean films that attracted attention during past Cannes editions were auteur or drama-driven films, it is unprecedented for genre films to receive critical acclaim.

At the Venice Film Festival, HONG Sang-soo’s Hill of Freedom and IM Kwon-taek’s Revivre were invited. The ‘Venice Days’ modeled after Cannes Film Festival’s ‘Directors’ Fortnight’ and organized with the support of the associations of film directors and authors (Anac and 100 autori) handed out the Fedora Award for Best Film to KIM Ki-duk’s ONE ON ONE. Meanwhile, Hill of Freedom received the ‘Montgolfière d'Or’ for Best Film at the Festival des 3 Continents de Nantes.

Another film festival to show great interest in Korean cinema was Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia. Omnibus film MAD SAD BAD won the ‘Focus Àsia’ Best Feature Film Award while Hwayi: A Monster Boy received a Special Mention in the same section. In the ‘Noves Visions’ section, HAN Gong-ju received the Best Feature Length Fiction Film Award, and Non Fiction Diary, the Best Feature Length Non-Fiction Film Award. In the ‘Anima't’ section, JANG Hyung-yun took the Best Feature Length Animated Film Award for his The Satellite Girl and Milk Cow. Especially, HAN Gong-ju continued its award-winning streak that began last year with additional awards including the International Film Festival Rotterdam 2014, Hivos Tiger Award, the ‘New Perspectives’ award for Best International Feature Film at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, and the Jury Prize, Audience Award, and Critic’s Prize at the Deauville Asian Film Festival. Meanwhile, horror omnibus film Horror Stories II received the Silver Raven Award at the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival.

CHO Geun-hyun who started his career as a production designer and made his directorial debut with 26 Years in 2012, showcased his second feature Late Spring to positive reviews from various film festivals. The film received an award for Best Foreign Feature at the Arizona International Film Festival, multiple awards for Best Film, Best Actress (LEE Yoo-young), and Best Cinematography (KIM Jung-won) at the Milan International Film Festival, and awards for Best Asian Narrative Film and Best Cinematography at the Asian Film Festival of Dallas. As the debut film of actress LEE Yoo-young and cinematographer KIM Jung-won, such achievements are quite exceptional. Child actress LEE Re in LEE Joon-ik’s Hope (2013) attracted attention as the recipient of the Tiantan Award for Best Supporting Actress at the Beijing International Film Festival for her debut feature performance.

 

This was also a meaningful year for a number of independent films such as HAN Gong-ju mentioned before. LEE Yong-seung’s 10 Minutes (2013) received the KNN Movie Award (Audience Award) and FIPRESCI Award at last year’s Busan International Film Festival, New Currents, and the Cyclo d’Or at the Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema, Faces of Contemporary Asian Cinema this year. Other awards include the Asian New Talent Award at the Shanghai International Film Festival, and Grand Prize at the Taipei Film Festival, New Talent Competition. 10 Minutes is an outstanding film in its humble yet solid drama that subtly explores the realistic issue of non-regular workers. July JUNG’s A Girl at My Door invited to Cannes Film Festival’s ‘Un Certain Regard’ this year received the award for Best First Film at the Stockholm International Film Festival. PARK Chan-kyong’s MANSHIN: Ten Thousand Spirits received the Fasken Martineau Best Feature Film or Video Award at the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival, Feature Presentation. This film was also the closing film at the New York Asian Film Festival.

It was also a fruitful year for animation films. JOUNG Yu-mi’s Love Games received the Grand Prix at the Animafest-World Festival of Animated Film – Zagreb, Grand Competition 5. JEONG Dahee’s Man on the Chair invited to Cannes Film Festival’s ‘Directors’ Fortnight’, received the Cristal for a Short Film at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, and Special International Jury Prize at the International Animation Festival HIROSHIMA.