S. Korea's movie industry hopeful for second-half resurgence

South Korea's movie industry is pinning hopes on a rebound during the summer, with July being the most crucial juncture for a second-half resurgence.

Analyst Shin Soo-yeon of Shinyoung Securities noted that with several South Korean films whose showing were postponed for the third quarter, there would be a gradual recovery for cinema multiplexes.

Hwang Jae-hyun, the spokesperson of South Korea's leading cinema chain CJ CGV, expressed optimism for the industry, noting that since late June, 1.6 million have watched the film #Alive without anybody getting infected with the virus.

Such an occurrence proves that its safe to be in theaters as long as people wear masks.

The pandemic has brought box-office admissions down 70.3 percent on-year to 32.4 million viewers in the first half, with sales revenue plummeting 70.6 percent to 273.8 billion won.

The worst month for the industry was in April when admissions dropped 92.7 percent, followed by 91.6 percent dip in May.

Before that, the highest admissions plunge was 87.5 percent in March.
In June, the tally showed signs of a rebound, plummeting 83.1 percent on-year. However, the recovery in June was smaller than expected.