2026 new year special film edition
Since The Roundup: Punishment (2024), the streak of 10-million-ticket films in Korean theaters has ended. Last year the highest-grossing Korean film drew only 5.64 million viewers with My Daughter is a Zombie, and even that record was humiliatingly broken by the Japanese animation Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train. In the end, the biggest box office hit of 2025 was Zootopia 2, released in November, which drew 7.7 million viewers by the end of the year and ranked a dominating first.
In the flood of incoming content, the film industry can no longer be the "only one" that replaces leisure time. Still, this year the comebacks of world-renowned masters and many highly anticipated films are set to open. Will a 10-million-ticket film handed down from the heavens be born in 2026 even if it is not a Korean work?
# na hong-jin's, by na hong-jin, for na hong-jin - Plus M Entertainment
First, looking at domestic distributors' lineups for the new year of the byeong-o year, the most talked-about work is director Na Hong-jin's Hope (HOPE). It is his first new film in a full 10 years after The Chaser, The Yellow Sea and The Wailing, and tells the story that begins when Beom-seok, the branch office chief at Hopohang located in the demilitarized zone, hears from local youths that a tiger has appeared, and as the whole village goes on alert he faces an unbelievable reality. Plus M Entertainment invested in and distributed the film, and it is reported that the largest production budget in Korean film history, 70 billion won, was invested.
Hope has also attracted attention for its global casting featuring leading domestic and international actors. Hwang Jung-min plays the arrogant but responsible branch office chief Beom-seok of Hopohang, Zo In-sung plays the village youth Seong-gi who passes time with hunting and fishing, and Jung Ho-yeon plays Hopohang police officer Seong-ae who does her duty in any situation. Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander, Taylor Russell and Cameron Britton, trusted Hollywood actors, play alien characters. Global interest beyond Korea is expected, and it is scheduled to open in July.
Plus M Entertainment will start with the crime-entertainment Project Y (directed by Lee Hwan), starring Han Sohee and Jeon Jong-seo, which opens on Jan. 21; followed by Don Lee's Pig Village (directed by Lee Sang-yong), triple 10-million-ticket star Ma Dong-seok's Pig Village (director Lee Sang-yong), Woo Do Hwan, Jang Dongkeon and Lee Hye-ri's Tropical Night (director Kim Pan-su), Kim Nam-gil and Park Bo Gum's Mongyudowondo (director Jang Hoon), Yum Jung-ah, Cha Joo-young and Kim Hyeyoon's Land (director Han Dong-wook), and others meeting audiences.
# Kwon Sang Woo · Gang Dong-won are here - Lotte Entertainment
Kwon Sang Woo's Heartman, opening on Jan. 14 (directed by Choi Won-seop, distributed by Lotte Entertainment, produced by Movie Rock and Like M Company), is the first Korean film released in the new year and targets audiences as a comedy that will make them laugh heartily. The returning man Seung-min (Kwon Sang Woo) struggles to keep his first love (Moon Chae-won) when they meet again, but a secret he can never tell her arises, leading to a comedy.
Kwon Sang Woo, whose series including Detective: The Beginning, Detective: Returns, Hitman and Hitman 2 drew a combined 10.71 million viewers, reunited with the director of Hitman, and his physical, unrestrained comic acting is a viewing point. Attention is also focused on the acting chemistry with Moon Chae-won, Park Ji-hwan and P.O.
Also, Wild Thing starring Gang Dong-won, Um Tae-goo and Park Ji-hyun (directed by Son Jae-gon), Resurrection Man starring Koo Kyo-hwan, Shin Seung-ho and Kang Ki-young based on the webtoon of the same name (directed by Baek Jong-yeol), Land of Happiness starring Choi Min-sik and Park Hae-il (directed by Im Sang-soo), and Gyeongju Trip starring Lee Jung-eun, Kong Hyojin and Park So-dam (directed by Kim Mi-jo) will visit theaters.
# the return of Ode to My Father 2 - CJ ENM
The sequel to Ode to My Father, which was seen by 14 million people, returns after 12 years. Ode to My Father 2, starring Lee Sung-min and Kang Ha-neul, is one of the anticipated works. CJ ENM is investing and distributing, and director Yoon Je-kyun is at the helm. Through the father Seong-min (played by Lee Sung-min), who lived only for his family, and the son Se-ju (played by Kang Ha-neul), who led the pro-democracy movement in the 1980s, it depicts the journey of conflict and reconciliation between the parent and child generations in rapidly changing Korean society from the 1970s to the 2000s.
Also, Byun Yo-Han, who recently announced his marriage to Girls' Generation member Tiffany, shows a new side in Tazza: The Song of Belzebub (directed by Choi Guk-hee, distributed by CJ ENM, produced by C-JeS), the fourth story and sequel in the Tazza series, in which Jang Tae-young (played by Byun Yo-Han), who thought he had everything through the poker business, and his close friend Park Tae-young (played by Roh Jae Won), who stole everything from him, meet again on a global gambling stage with huge sums at stake and risk their lives in this crime film. The full cast has been confirmed and filming has been ongoing since the second half of last year. In addition, Paradise Lost starring Kim Hyun-Joo and Bae Hyeon-seong (directed by Yeon Sang-ho) and Project 30 (working title) are also scheduled.
# will zombie and yeon sang-ho hit big? - SHOWBOX
King and the man who lives with the king, opening in February, is set in 1457 Cheongryeongpo and tells the story of a village head who volunteered for exile to revive the village and the young deposed king exiled from the throne. Excellent storyteller Jang Hang-jun directs, Yoo Hai Jin plays the village head Eom Heung-do of Gwangcheongol who was exiled, and actor Park Jihoon, who proved his acting in the series Weak Hero, plays the young king Lee Hong-wi. Yoo Ji-tae plays the era's top power holder Han Myeong-hoe, Jeon Mido plays the court lady Maehwa who assists Lee Hong-wi, and notable actors including Park Ji-hwan, Lee Jun-hyuk and Ahn Jaehong join in special appearances.
Director Yeon Sang-ho's new work, which boasts a strong fandom in the global market, and Goonche, marking Jun Ji-hyun's return to the screen after 11 years, is also worth watching. Set inside a building quarantined by a mysterious infection, it depicts isolated survivors fighting against infected people who evolve into unpredictable forms. Jun Ji-hyun is joined by Koo Kyo-hwan, Ji Changwook, Shin Hyun-been, Kim Shin-rock and Go Soo. In addition, Kim Hyeyoon stars in the horror film Salmokji (directed by Lee Sang-min), and Kim Yun-seok and Koo Kyo-hwan star in the psychological thriller Heavy Snow (directed by Hong Ui-jung and Park Seon-woo), both of which are also expected to meet audiences.
Following SHOWBOX, NEW will release Ryu Seung-wan's Humint (directed by Ryu Seung-wan, distributed by NEW, produced by Oeyunaegang Co.) during the Lunar New Year holiday. Set in Vladivostok where secrets and truth are submerged in the cold ice sea, it tells the story of people with different aims clashing, and Zo In-sung and Park Jeongmin reunited with director Ryu Seung-wan after three years since Smugglers.
# robert downey jr., savior coming to save marvel and the avengers
This year Hollywood films are expected to heat up Korean film fans' hearts. In April, the sequel to The Devil Wears Prada will return to Korean theaters 20 years later starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway, and in May the biopic Michael, chronicling the life of the pop king Michael Jackson, opens. In June, Pixar's legendary animation Toy Story 5 returns as a new season after seven years.
In July, Christopher Nolan's new film Odyssey will be released; Nolan is regarded as one of the greatest living directors. It tells the harrowing 10-year voyage in unknown worlds that Odysseus, the war hero and wise king who led the Trojan War to victory with the Trojan horse, endures as he returns to his homeland to his wife Penelope. With a dazzling cast including Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong'o, Zendaya and Charlize Theron, it is already drawing explosive reactions from global fans.
According to recent Forbes, the first trailer for Odyssey recorded 121.4 million cumulative views within one day of release, making it arguably the most anticipated film of 2026.
In the final December, Marvel, whose box office empire had crumbled, begins to see the actions of Robert Downey Jr., who has come to save the Avengers.
Earlier, Downey Jr. had played Tony Stark, the Iron Man character, in 10 Marvel films beginning with Iron Man in 2008. But Iron Man died in Avengers: Endgame and that seemed to mark his exit from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Although the character was dead, fans had hoped for Downey Jr.'s cameo returns. Still, he flatly said, "There is no return to Marvel."
In this situation, Downey Jr. announced a sudden return after being persuaded by the Russo brothers, who directed Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. He will appear in both Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, roughly the fifth and sixth Avengers films, this time not as a hero but as a villain, newly taking the role of Victor von Doom. He will transform into one of the most terrifying villains in Marvel Comics history.
Since 2019's Avengers: Endgame, Marvel's box office performance fell into a slump, and attention is focused on whether Downey Jr. can rescue it.<
[photo] OSEN DB, various movie posters and stills
[OSEN]