Overview
- The Korean Film Council reported Wednesday that theaters earned 579 billion won from 57 million admissions in January–June 2026, a 41.9% revenue rise from a year earlier.
- Domestic films led the rebound with 370.2 billion won and 37.4 million admissions, an 81.7% revenue gain driven largely by the megahit The King's Warden.
- The King's Warden became the highest-grossing Korean film through June with about 163.1 billion won in ticket sales and roughly 16.9 million admissions.
- Revenue from premium formats such as IMAX, 4D, ScreenX and Dolby Cinema jumped 56.3% to 45.7 billion won, helping offset weaker ticket counts for many imported titles.
- Showbox dominated distribution with a 48.6% market share, indie imports like A24’s Backrooms found niche success, and overall Korean film revenue recovered to about 94.2% of the 2017–2019 first-half average.