The film 'God's Orchestra' (director Kim Hyung-hyeop) rose to the center of New Year's box office success, showing remarkable strength despite fierce attacks from Hollywood blockbusters.
According to the Korean Box Office Information System on the 2nd, 'God's Orchestra,' which opened on Dec. 31, recorded an explosive seat occupancy rate of 41.2% on Jan. 1, the first day of the new year, ranking overwhelmingly first among Korean films.
This figure left competing Korean films 'If Only It Were Us' (32.8%) and 'Even If This Love Disappears from the World Tonight' (30.7%) far behind. Above all, the surprising point is the overall ranking. 'God's Orchestra' surpassed 'Zootopia 2' (35.4%), which has a global fandom, to claim second place in overall seat occupancy. It trailed the No. 1 mega blockbuster 'Avatar: Fire and Re' (44.1%) by only 3 percentage points, showing signs of a comeback that could overturn its disadvantage in screen count with the enthusiastic support of actual viewers.
The advance of 'God's Orchestra' is analyzed as having relieved audiences' thirst for a well-made human drama that smells of humanity amid flashy fantasy films. The ironic premise of a North Korean security officer creating a fake praise troupe, the fearless performances by actors such as Park Si-Hoo and Jung Jin-woon, and the heart-rending music have combined to draw praise such as "the most moving of this winter" and "the only movie to watch with family."
In fact, online communities and social media are full of firsthand viewer testimonials such as "I saw God's Orchestra and was very satisfied," "a more entertaining real-life drama than Zootopia," and "I almost gave a standing ovation at the final chorus," driving up advance booking rates.
Having confirmed explosive offline reactions by selling out all seats at its Seoul stage greeting on opening day, the 'God's Orchestra' team will carry that momentum into a nationwide stage-greeting tour starting today.
Leading actors Park Si-Hoo, Jung Jin-woon, Han Jung-wan and Go Hye-jin will start in Daejeon today (the 2nd), then visit Daegu and Ulsan on the 3rd and Busan on the 4th to meet local audiences in person. The loud cheers that resembled an idol concert at the Seoul stage greeting are expected to be reproduced in regional theaters. Buoyed by the audience's enthusiastic support, the 'God's Orchestra' side plans to continue nationwide stage greetings in the second week as well, not just the first week after release, to sustain its box office momentum.
'God's Orchestra,' which recorded the remarkable score of No. 1 among Korean films and No. 2 overall despite significantly fewer screens (seats) than other films released around the same time, is drawing attention as inquiries for additional screenings, such as group showings, continue through word of mouth, leaving watchers to see how it will shake up the box office landscape in January.
[Photo] Provided by CJ CGV
[OSEN]