The proposed merger between Lotte Cinema and Megabox, which would have created South Korea’s largest theatrical exhibitor, has officially collapsed after roughly 14 months of negotiations, with the deal ultimately undone by a financial crisis engulfing Megabox’s parent company, JoongAng Group.
Lotte Shopping and Contentree JoongAng disclosed Wednesday that the memorandum of understanding governing the merger between Lotte Cultureworks and Megabox JoongAng lapsed as of June 30, formally ending the process. The two sides had signed the original MoU in May 2025 and extended it three separate times as they worked through deal terms, most recently pushing the deadline to June 30.
Had it closed, the merger would have pushed the combined company’s national screen share to nearly 50%, vaulting it past longtime market leader CJ CGV to become Korea’s top exhibitor. Instead, the local theatrical market stays in its existing three-way competition among CGV, Lotte Cinema and Megabox.
According to the Korean Film Council, total theatrical revenue in Korea fell 12.4% to KRW1.047 trillion ($673.1 million) in 2025, with admissions down 13.8% to 106.09 million – the second consecutive annual decline. The market has shown a notable rebound this year, however: box office revenue for the first half of 2026 reached an estimated KRW539.7 billion ($347 million) on some 53.19 million admissions, up from KRW407.9 billion ($262.3 million) and 42.5 million admissions in the same period last year, according to KOBIS ticketing data.
