Famous Hallyu Actor’s Film Begins To Struggle With Audience Turnout, Could Potentially Fail To Break Even At The Box Office
The audience turnout for the Hyun Bin-led film Harbin has sharply declined causing a panic in the film industry as the Korean cinema continues to show signs of severe struggle.
According to the Korea Film Council’s integrated ticketing network on the 16th of January, Harbin drew 31,915 viewers the previous day, bringing its total audience count to 4,282,201. Breaking past the 4 millions is no easy feat and an accomplishment on its own but its far from the break even point the film needs to generate profit.
Harbin has maintained its position at the top of the box office for 23 consecutive days and continues to perform well in the long term, but it appears to have lost much of its initial momentum.
During the first nine days after its release, Harbin consistently attracted at least 100,000 viewers daily. However, as public reviews have become more mixed, its daily audience dropped sharply to 56,648 on the 6th, and it has since fallen even further. On weekdays, excluding weekends, the film is now struggling to attract even 50,000 viewers.
The break-even point for Harbin is reportedly a whopping 6.8 million viewers. To reach this figure, the film needs an additional 2.52 million viewers. While upcoming holidays, such as Lunar New Year, could boost attendance, considering its current trend, Korean media says it may be difficult for Harbin to achieve its target.
Adding to the pressure, Song Hye Kyo’s The Black Nuns and Do Kyung Soo’s Secret: Untold Melody are set to be released soon, putting Harbin in a tense position.
Meanwhile, Harbin is based on the historical event of An Jung Geun’s assassination mission in Harbin, portraying the pursuit and suspicion between those heading to the location and those tracking them. The film stars Hyun Bin, Park Jung Min, and Jo Woo Jin, with Woo Min Ho directing.
Source: (A)
