South Korea has achieved its highest revenue and attendance figures in the first three-quarters of the year since the Covid-19 pandemic, topping the KRW1tn mark.
Revenues of nearly $800m (KRW1.07tn) from 96.89 million tickets were recorded from January to September, according to a Q3 report from the Korean Film Council (Kofic). This marks an increase of 35.9% and 28.8% respectively on the same period in 2025.
Last year, it took until December before Korea topped KRW1tn and 100 million attendees.
Success in the third quarter of the year was driven by Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, superhero feature Spider-Man: Brand New Day and local blockbuster Hope.
During that period, from July to September, total revenue was $316.5m (KRW423.4bn) from 39.86 million cinemagoers – up 29% and 22.2%, respectively, year-on-year.
However, gross earnings for Korean titles declined in Q3. Local revenues totalled $91.7m (KRW122.7bn) from 11.93 million people, respectively down 9.8% and 15.2% year-on-year. This was due to a strong performance of overseas films and a concentration of Korean film releases in September, leading to a weak August for local titles.
Na Hong-jin’s Hope drove a strong performance in July while highly anticipated titles released over the Chuseok holiday boosted figures in September. But holding back those anticipated titles meant a decline in August, when revenues for local films dropped from $45.2m to $16m year-on-year.
Overseas films accounted for 71% of total box-office revenue in Q3, reaching $225m (KRW300.6bn) from 28.03 million tickets – an increase of 56.4% and 50.4% year-on-year respectively. This was due to the stellar performances of The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Their combined revenue across the period was $170.3m (KRW227.7bn), accounting for 75.7% of total foreign film revenue.
Nolan’s epic topped the box office during this period, earning $100.5m (KRW134.3bn) from 11.86 million viewers and becoming the second film to cross the 10 million landmark this year after local drama The King’s Warden. It also became the country’s most successful Imax release, earning $21.7m (KRW39.1bn) from Imax screenings, which accounted for 21.6% of the film’s total revenue.
Spider-Man: A Brand New Day ranked second on $69.8m and Hope came third with $36.7m in Q3. Meanwhile, religious animation David topped the box office for independent films across the period, grossing $2.2m (KRW3bn) from 309,992 viewers.
While the box office to date has outpaced last year, the upcoming release calendar lacks local heavy hitters.
A few notable titles that premiered at Busan are scheduled for release, including workplace thriller Final Interview and romantic drama Seven O’Clock Breakfast Club For The Brokenhearted.
But it is the release of US tentpole Avengers: Doomsday on December 16 that looks set to give a final boost to Korea’s box office before the end of 2026.
Post-pandemic, the country’s most successful year at the box office to date has been 2023, earning $961m due to local titles such as Kim Sung-soo’s historical action drama 12.12: The Day and action thriller The Roundup: No Way Out, starring Don Lee.
