Despite This Famous Actor’s Confidence In New Drama, Ratings Fail To Rise… Shocking Numbers For A Weekend Drama

Despite the famous actor Namgoong Min confidently declaring that episode 5 of “Our Movie” would be the turning point, no dramatic rebound has occurred.

According to Nielsen Korea, ratings continue to linger in the 3% range, and the drama has failed to rank within the top 10 on domestic OTT platforms. Even in terms of buzz and public interest, the response has fallen short of expectations given Namgoong Min’s star power. Although it was anticipated that the tearjerking terminal illness storyline and the calm, traditional melodrama format might hinder success, even the quality he was so sure of is being questioned due to emotionally disconnected characters and underwhelming direction.

“Our Movie” follows the love story of film director Lee Jae Ha (played by Namgoong Min), who has no future left, and actress Lee Da Eum (played by Jeon Yeo Been), who has only today to live. As the drama reached its halfway mark, it has yet to show any significant rise in viewership—contrary to Namgoong Min’s confident claims.

The drama premiered with a viewership rating of 4.2%, but by the second episode, it had dropped to 3.0%—the lowest among all SBS Friday-Saturday dramas since The Resurrection of the Seven ended in May 2023. Compared to the peak 11% viewership of its predecessor The Escape of the Seven: Resurrection, this is just a third.

Still, Namgoong Min remained confident, saying, “I’m very confident. Just give it a chance until episode 5. If there’s no impressive rebound by then, you can scold me. It’ll be my responsibility.” His confidence stirred anticipation and support from viewers who trust his reputation as a reliable actor.

However, the ratings didn’t climb. Episode 3 recorded 4.0%, episode 4 dropped to 3.4%, and the much-anticipated episode 5 reached only 3.7%. The most recent episode, episode 6, recorded 3.2%. With that, Our Movie has become the lowest-rated weekend mini-series for three consecutive weeks.

The drama has also underperformed in buzz rankings. As of June 30, Our Movie ranked 11th on WAVVE’s “Top 20 Today” and was also outranked on Disney+ by The Knife-Wielding Hunter. Globally, it only cracked the top 10 in Japan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong—and only in the lower positions.

Of course, given its genre, Our Movie was never expected to be a commercial hit. Its slow, indie film-like tone and predetermined tragic ending aren’t particularly appealing to mainstream audiences.

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Source: (A)