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Director name, star cast and the type of genre; these are still the three selling points when it comes to a film market’s main concern. Director’s name power didn’t stand out so much this year with star players such as PARK Chan-wook and KIM Jee-woon winding down on domestic activities to step into the Hollywood arena. Nevertheless, major European film festivals such as Cannes, Venice and Berlin continued to pay keen attention to favorite Korean directors this year. IM Kwon-taek’s 102nd work Revivre showcased at the Gala screening of this year’s Venice attracted great attention in the market as the latest work from a master of Korean cinema. KIM Ki-duk’s One on One and HONG Sang-soo’s Hill of Freedom continued to raise interest in the European market just by name value. KIM Ki-duk’s latest work One on One which opened Venice Days and travelled to numerous festivals including the SITGES International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia fared well in sales including pre-sold territories to Greece and Turkey to the additional markets of Italy and Japan. HONG Sang-soo’s Hill of Freedom traveled beyond Europe to a larger worldwide market. Since its world premiere at Venice Orizzonti Competition, the film was showcased in the order of Toronto’s Masters, Vancouver, New York and BFI London with the addition of sales to France, Italy, Japan and Hong Kong.

 

Among upcoming film directors who stood out in this year’s market is SHIM Sung-bo who heated this year’s Toronto Gala screening with his feature debut film Haemoo. Securing pre-sales with just a ten minute promotion screening to five territories including Japan, France, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore, the film continued to enjoy attention in Toronto as well. The film received recognition through being invited to international film festivals including San Sebastian’s competition category, and becoming the final pick to represent Korea for the Academy Awards Best Foreign Language Film category clearly boosted the film’s market visibility. Finecut’s founder and Haemoo’s international sales rep SUH Youngjoo stated “We were able to appeal to film professionals with the director’s image as a talented and competent filmmaker thanks to the great interest the film attracted at film festivals. We had quite a few meetings during the Toronto International Film Festival”. Fatal’s LEE Don-ku and HAN Gong-ju’s LEE Su-jin were also a few names noticed overseas. Fatal was sold to Malaysia, China, North America and Japan while HAN Gon-ju was sold to Spain, England, China, France and Japan. Both films fared well for independent films in international sales proving that there is an overseas demand for independent films and not just commercial and art house films.

 

The fact that this year’s sales did not lean too much on star directors’ works gave room for a new perspective, suggesting a shift in the conditions of Korean films in the market. CJ E&M’s Film Business Division representative Kim Seong-eun gave the example of Roaring Currents which was released in North America and Australia to rave responses by explaining “If sales during the mid and late 2000s were focused on renowned film directors, now more attention is paid to the cinematic qualities of the film itself. I believe this is a positive instance that Korean commercial films in general have stepped up in quality”. He also added “Haeundae is still bringing in royalties even without promoting the director and stars’ names. This indicates an overall shift in the perception of Korean films”. CJ E&M’s Scarlet Innocence was disappointing in the domestic box office, but was embraced as a ‘high-end erotic thriller’ overseas at showcases such as the Toronto International Film Festival. Lotte Entertainment’s The Pirates, despite the lack of director and star orientation in the international market, its genre-wise entertaining qualities were well-received in Europe. Case in point, these films proved the significance of cinematic qualities when it comes to international recognition.

 

Hallyu(Korean Wave) stars were the main attraction in Asia. Despite having restrictions on foreign film releases in China due to import quota, a demand for films with Hallyu star cast still stood strong. As a current favorite in the Great China market, KIM Woo-bin’s popularity extended to films he starred in. The Con Artists dealing with a tension-packed search for hidden money doubled its selling price due to KIM Woo-bin’s star power. LEE Min-ho’s screen debut film Gangnam Blues also spurred impressive response in the overseas market. Pre-sold to 11 territories including Japan, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, the film will meet fans all around Asia in 2015. Especially, participation of leading distributors in their local market including Japan’s Klockworx, Shanghai’s New Empire Entertainment, and Hong Kong’s Edko Film creates encouraging expectations for the film’s overseas box office scores next year. Better known overseas as T.O.P. of idol group Big Bang, actor CHOI Seung-hyun is also hot with his latest film Tazza-The Hidden Card sold to China and Singapore.
Slow Video has benefited from a ‘CHA Tae-hyun effect’. Twenty years have passed since the release of My Sassy Girl, but the actor’s name-value is still attracting moviegoers to theaters. His fixed exposure in Sunday variety show Two Days and One Night plays a significant part in his Chinese popularity, while Slow Video’s sales-friendly nature as a romantic comedy helped the film’s international acquisition as well. Actor PARK Hae-jin’s star power in China and Japan spurred from popular TV drama series You Who Came from the Stars inspired considerable enthusiasm in the market towards his latest feature Snow is on the Sea. The film’s selling price went up just by the fact that the film is a melodrama starring PARK Hae-jin. Actor KANG Ha-nuel’s popular acclaim also paid off for horror film Mourning Grave. Although the actor did not have a significant part in the film, his TV drama persona served well in the market. Mourning Grave exploited its identity as a ‘horror genre’ which has a specific target group appeal by being sold to North American and European territories as well as Asia.

 

Actors KIM Woo-bin, LEE Min-ho, and idol star groups TVXQ!, Super Junior and JYJ still prevail as strong sales points in Asia. In the case of film Cart which saw favorable response in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan, idol group EXO’s member D.O. had a role in the film and may have served as major appealing factor. 9ers Entertainment’s LEE Jeong-eun explains “The subject of launching a labor union doesn’t sell well overseas. Nevertheless, D.O.’s name value was quite effective in international sales. Sales price didn’t rise as he was not in the main cast, but his film appearance definitely influenced sales”. Another film that displayed Hallyu star power was omnibus film The Youth. Boasting a multiple cast of popular idol stars including Super Junior’s LEE Dong-hae, 4minute’s NAM Ji-hyun and FT Island’s SONG Seung-hyun, the film fared well in the international market with a theatrical release in Taiwan and Japan, and requests from Vietnam and Indonesia. According to M-Line Distribution’s Michelle SON “Independent films and omnibus films are hard to sell, but the rising interest in Hallyu stars are offsetting these weak points. Buyers use Super Junior fan meetings as their marketing strategy when releasing a film (starring a Super Junior member) in theaters. Sales price of these films tend to run up higher than other films with similar conditions. Because it’s hard to theatrically release a film in China due to their quota or rating systems, preferences are slanting towards films that can ride on star power or are large-scaled productions“. Mourning Grave is planning to invite the film’s star KANG Ha-neul for meetings with Hong Kong fans for its Hong Kong release. 9ers Entertainment’s LEE Jeong-eun says “If a film has a Hallyu star cast, planning related promos such as events and media exposures are becoming the norm although they’re not specifically stated in the contract. Such events actually are quite influential in ticket sales”.

 

Unlike the influential Korean star power in the Great China region, Japan isn’t sharing this trend. Not much showings appear for the next couple of years after the release of a Hallyu star-casted film, and the general mood isn’t displaying any significant signs of ‘Hallyu stars’ working as a major keyword. Lotte Entertainment’s HAN Min-hyung explains, “Several films starring Hallyu stars such as The Fatal Encounter’s HYUN Bin and Memories of the Sword’s LEE Byung-hun are still attracting interest, but compared to the past, the influence of such stars have definitely declined”. Haemoo was an exception for its sales to Japan as the prevailing popularity of idol star group JYJ member PARK Yoo-chun can be attributed to the purachase. Like Code Name: Jackal which fared well in Japan 2 years ago thanks to its star JYJ’s KIM Jae-joong, Haemoo also raised favorable response in the currently declining Japanese market. Marriage Blue, starring actor JU Ji-hoon and another idol star group member, 2PM’s OK Taec-yeon attracted unexpectedly favorable response which seems to be the result of the large fan base actor JU Ji-hoon retains in Japan.”
In addition to the theatrical market, the rising demand for star cast films in the ancillary market such as VOD is expected to continue for the time being. M-Line Distribution’s Michelle SON comments “Apart from acquisitions for theatrical release, there clearly is a rising demand in the ancillary market such as VODs (for Korean star cast films). China has become a significant market for this with the revitalization of its downloading systems which rearranged the concept of copyrights”. On the other hand, Hallyu stars are not so influential in the North American and European market, and it will be a key task to extend the interest in K-pop or Hallyu stars to Korean films.