Poster for Director Kim Do-young’s film ‘If We’. Photo Showbox
Could year-end and New Year romances help Korean films save face? Romance titles are holding the upper ranks of the box office.
According to the daily admissions tally from the Korean Film Council integrated box-office computer network on the 11th, three Korean films placed within the top five on the 10th. James Cameron’s ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ drew 135,341 viewers, putting it on the verge of a cumulative 6 million, while ‘If We’, ‘The Divine Orchestra’, and ‘Even If This Love Disappears from the World Tonight’ (hereafter ‘OSEISA’) ranked near the top.
Director Kim Do-young’s film ‘If We’ placed second with 61,645 admissions, and Director Kim Hyung-hyeop’s ‘The Divine Orchestra’ ranked fourth with 34,702. Director Kim Hye-young’s ‘OSEISA’ drew 24,597 viewers. ‘If We’ surpassed 1 million nationwide admissions on the 11th, while ‘The Divine Orchestra’ and ‘OSEISA’ stood at 220,000 and 750,000, respectively.
A scene from Director Kim Hye-young’s film ‘Even If This Love Disappears from the World Tonight’. Photo By4M Studio
Of course, the momentum of ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ and the heat around Disney titles such as ‘Zootopia 2’, which has also topped 8 million, can make the achievements of Korean films look modest. Still, it feels like an improvement over the period when all of the top five were ceded. And the year-end-and-New-Year strength of the new Korean trend toward ‘romance titles’ offers some consolation.
‘If We’ is a remake of the 2018 Chinese film ‘Us and Them’, starring Koo Kyo-hwan and Moon Ga-young. It follows a couple who loved passionately in their early twenties and, reunited ten years later, look back on their past love. ‘OSEISA’, starring Chu Young-woo and Shin Si-a, tells the story of a man who loves a heroine whose memories reset anew each day.
Including ‘The Divine Orchestra’, which likewise emphasizes human compassion, all three works are predicated on ‘love’. In addition, even though ‘Heartman’, starring Kwon Sang-woo and Moon Chae-won and reuniting the director and lead of the ‘Hitman’ series, does not open until the 14th, it drew 2,605 viewers through paid previews; and ‘Florence’, starring Kim Min-jong and Ye Ji-won, likewise drew 2,488 viewers and, for a low-budget film, surpassed a notable milestone of 10,000 nationwide admissions.
Poster for Director Lee Chang-yeol’s film ‘Florence’. Photo Yeonghwaroun Hyeongje
Korean cinema emerges from its own off-season in January and, at the beginning of February, rolls out big releases aimed at the Lunar New Year holiday. Genres are diverse, including ‘HUMINT’, directed by Ryoo Seung-wan and starring Jo In-sung, ‘Project Y’, directed by Lee Hwan and featuring Han So-hee, Jeon Jong-seo, and Jung Young-joo, and ‘The Man Who Lives with the King’, directed by Jang Hang-jun and starring Yoo Hae-jin and Park Ji-hoon.
Ultimately, the heat around romance has taken on the important task of proving through February the reason for Korean cinema to exist. In 2026, a year when many are truly talking about a crisis for Korean film, that is why their start matters.
