"Spider-Man: Brand New Day" (hereafter "Spider-Man 4"), the fourth installment in the "Spider-Man" film series, surpassed 3 million viewers on the 2nd, its fifth day in theaters. Director Na Hong-jin's science fiction film "Hope" exceeded a cumulative 4 million viewers on the 2nd, while director Christopher Nolan's film "Odyssey" has even spawned ticket scalping, keeping Korean theaters on a hot streak.
Distributor Sony Pictures said the cumulative number of viewers for "Spider-Man 4" surpassed 3 million on that day. The record came just one day after the film exceeded 2 million viewers the previous day. Released on the 29th of last month, "Spider-Man 4" surpassed 1 million viewers on its second day, followed by the 2 million and 3 million milestones, all at the fastest pace among films released this year. "Spider-Man 4" depicts the coming-of-age story of Spider-Man Peter Parker (played by Tom Holland), who reaches adulthood while being forgotten by everyone who knew him. The CGV Egg Index, based on audience evaluations, currently records a high score of 96%. Advance booking rates are also high. According to the Korean Film Council on the 2nd, the advance booking rate as of 5 p.m. that day was 48.3%, ahead of "Odyssey" (35.2%) and "Hope" (4.3%). With the number of advance-booking viewers reaching about 420,000, the film is expected to maintain its dominance at least until "Odyssey" opens on the 5th.
Although it has slowed somewhat due to the successive releases of Hollywood blockbusters, "Hope" also became the third film released this year to surpass 4 million viewers. Distributor Plus M Entertainment said "Hope" exceeded a cumulative 4 million viewers as of the 2nd. Among films released this year, "Hope" is the third to reach the 4 million mark, following director Jang Hang-jun's "The Man Who Lives with the King" and director Yeon Sang-ho's "Colony." With its unique composition blending various genres such as action, science fiction, and comedy, opinions were sharply divided early in its release, but its distinctive scale and cinematic experience have drawn continued praise. Plus M Entertainment said, "'Hope' recorded a 44.3% seat sales rate on the 1st despite the offensive from anticipated foreign films," adding, "It is once again proving the competitiveness of Korean films with its reverse-run performance."
Amid all this, ticket scalping has emerged for prime seats, prompting calls for countermeasures to be prepared as soon as possible. For the globally talked-about film "Odyssey" by director Christopher Nolan, IMAX scalped tickets sold at a premium above face value have appeared. According to the film industry, posts selling IMAX tickets for the film "Odyssey" have recently been appearing on secondhand trading platforms such as Joonggonara and Bunjang. Most sell tickets at prices higher than the IMAX ticket price. In particular, for tickets to the popular CGV Yongsan I'Park Mall IMAX, known as "Yong-A-Maek," there are posts selling them for 100,000 won each as "prime seats." Considering that the IMAX ticket price for that time slot is 17,000 won, this amounts to profiteering of more than five times. Earlier in the United States, scalped tickets priced at $1,000 (about 1.44 million won), more than 30 times the usual ticket price, also drew attention. A battle to secure tickets broke out because there are only about 40 theaters worldwide screening the film on 70mm IMAX film shot by director Nolan.
"Odyssey" is highly popular for IMAX screenings as it is a work by director Nolan, who has been shooting in earnest with IMAX cameras since "The Dark Knight" (2008). In particular, this work drew attention as the first in film history to shoot its entire footage with IMAX cameras. Audiences can experience the journey of Odysseus (played by Matt Damon), the hero of the Trojan War, returning to his kingdom of Ithaca through grand visuals and overwhelming sound.
Meanwhile, in the performance and sports sectors, amendments to the Performance Act and the National Sports Promotion Act, which fully ban scalping and impose fines of up to 50 times the amount of unfair sales, have passed and are set to take effect this month. However, penalties for movie scalping are relatively weak. Offline scalping can be punished under the Minor Offenses Act, but this amounts only to a fine of 200,000 won or less. Online scalping has no clear legal basis, and theaters must file complaints under the criminal offense of "obstruction of business," making it largely ineffective. As a result, there have been persistent calls for measures to eradicate scalping in film screenings as well.
