South Korea is experimenting with the theatrical release of “snack films” in a bid to revitalise its struggling box office, with the latest offering set to open this weekend.
Horror-thriller 4:44 : Time Of Fear will receive a theatrical release on November 1, despite being just 44 minutes long. Reflecting this shorter runtime, tickets will be priced at under $3 (KRW4,000), less than one-third of a standard ticket, as theatres seek to entice audiences with more affordable options.
In a further bid to draw audiences, the cast includes an ensemble of K-pop stars, including Shinee’s Onew (Lee Jink), Yoo Jiae of Lovelyz, Sungyeol of Infinite, as well as Lim Nayoung, Kim So Won, and Kwon Hyun-bin.
Directed by Park Jong-gyun, the film comprises eight shorts, each 4 minutes 44 seconds in length, which centre on residents of an apartment complex who each meet a mysterious fate. Episodes include Do Not Feed, in which Kim Sowon plays an animal lover whose seemingly innocent act of feeding street cats lures her into a deadly trap.
The film is distributed by Lotte Entertainment and will open exclusively at Lotte Cinema screens.
“We are experimenting with new formats to satisfy the needs of audiences who enjoy ‘snack culture’,” said Hana Choi, director of international business at Lotte Entertainment. “The quick pace of short-form content seems to be an ideal match with the horror genre.”
The format has been fuelled by the popularity of social media and demand for brief but engaging content.
It is also hoped to attract audiences back to Korean theatres, where the box office has yet to recover from the Covid pandemic and has particularly been struggling this year. Takings last weekend were reportedly the lowest of the year to date and October looks set to be the fourth month of 2024 during which takings fell below KRW100bn ($72.5bn), with lower-than-expected revenue from Joker: Folie A Deux and Transformers One.
An early move into “snack films” came in June with Night Fishing, a 13-minute thriller directed by Byoung-gon Moon and led by The Roundup star Son Suk-ku. Backed by Hyundai, the short follows a man who tracks an unidentified creature to an electric vehicle charging station. With tickets priced at KRW1,000 ($0.70) and exclusive screenings at CGV cinemas, the film sold 46,000 tickets in just two weeks. It also played Canada’s Fantasia Film Festival, where it won the best editing prize and best Asian short bronze award.
4:44 : Time Of Fear represents Lotte Entertainment’s first foray into short-form theatrical releases. Hyeon Cheol Kim, general manager of Lotte’s distribution strategy team, added: “As this is Lotte’s first attempt at distributing short-form or a “snack film” in theatres, we ourselves are curious how audiences will react. We anticipate that new formats will continue to add to the diversity of content released at cinemas.”