South Korea's movie theaters staged their strongest recovery since the COVID-19 pandemic this summer, with a clear trend of moviegoers watching the same film multiple times. A growing number of viewers are also heading to premium screens such as SCREENX, 4DX and IMAX, signaling a shift in how films are being watched.
About 9.55 million people visited theaters during the peak summer season from July 29 to August 9, according to CJ CGV's data strategy team on the 12th. It was the largest turnout for the comparable summer peak period since 2019, up 45.6% from the same period a year earlier. Analysts said the figure was also driven by rising demand for what has been dubbed "cinema-cation" — using theaters as a refuge from the heat — as the summer heatwave overlapped with the vacation season.
"Spider-Man: Brand New Day" and "Odyssey" led the box office, drawing large crowds not only to standard screens but also to premium ones. Seat occupancy at major premium screens such as SCREENX, 4DX and IMAX reached 70% to 80%.
Each film touts its own optimal viewing format. "Spider-Man" was designed with SCREENX screening in mind from the planning and production stages. "Odyssey" was known early on as the first feature film shot entirely on IMAX 70mm film cameras across its full 172-minute running time. As a result, moviegoers competed to book premium seats best suited to each film.
A rise in repeat visits was another notable feature. Among CGV customers during the survey period, 11.3% watched a movie two or more times, and 56.8% of them saw both "Spider-Man" and "Odyssey." The two hits that drove this summer's box office stimulated demand for each other, producing a combined box-office effect.
"Spider-Man" in particular has established itself as a film that drives repeat viewing, with 15.7% of multiple-viewing customers watching it again. About half of the repeat viewers used premium screens such as SCREENX, 4DX and IMAX. Because the same film can offer different levels of enjoyment and immersion depending on the viewing format, the trend is read as a shift away from "watch it once and you're done" toward experiencing multiple formats.
