Local films drove Korean box office recovery in the first half of 2026, with total industry revenue reaching KRW579 billion ($399.1 million) on 57.05 million admissions, up 41.9% and 34.2% year-on-year, respectively, according to figures released by the Korean Film Council (KOFIC).
Local titles accounted for the bulk of that growth. Korean-film revenue totaled KRW370.2 billion ($255.2 million) from 37.37 million admissions, an increase of 81.7% and 74.9% year-on-year. It is the strongest first-half showing for local cinema since the pandemic, with revenue now equivalent to 94.2% of the pre-pandemic first-half average calculated across 2017 to 2019.
International films generated KRW208.8 billion ($143.9 million) in revenue from 19.68 million admissions in the same period. Admissions dropped 6.9% year-on-year, but revenue still rose 2.3%, a gain the council attributed to heavy premium-format ticket sales for titles including “Project Hail Mary” and “Avatar: Fire and Ash.” Premium-format screenings made up 30.2% of total revenue for “Project Hail Mary” and 49.9% for “Avatar: Fire and Ash.”
“The King’s Warden” led all releases for the half, pulling in KRW163.1 billion ($112.4 million) from 16.91 million admissions to become the highest-grossing Korean film ever released. “Colony” ranked second with KRW60.5 billion ($41.7 million) from 5.74 million admissions, while “Salmokji: Whispering Water” placed third on KRW33.3 billion ($23 million) from 3.24 million admissions, giving Korean titles a clean sweep of the top three releases. KOFIC noted that strong results this half came not only from period dramas and action blockbusters but also from mid- and small-budget romance and horror titles, pointing to a wider range of genres and scales among successful local releases.
