South Korea’s cinema sector is enduring its most severe downturn in nearly two decades, marked by plummeting box office revenues, drastically reduced film releases and a dearth of international recognition, as major studios plan only 10 to 14 commercial films for 2025 amid calls for urgent government intervention.
The South Korean film industry, centred in Seoul, is confronting its toughest year since the early 2000s excluding pandemic disruptions, with the five major production-distribution companies including CJ ENM and Lotte Entertainment set to release just 10 to 14 Korean commercial films in 2025, down from 35 annually in 2023 and 2024, due to shrinking investments and poor profitability.
Sharp Decline in Releases and Revenue Signals Deepening Crisis
The Korean Film Council (Kofic) has reported that the five major investment-distribution groups—CJ ENM, Lotte Entertainment, NEW, Showbox and Plus M Entertainment—anticipate releasing only 10 to 14 Korean commercial films in 2025, a stark reduction to about one-third of the 35 to 37 films released each year from 2023 to 2024, as investment contraction takes hold across the sector. In the first half of 2025, box office revenue fell by 33 per cent to 407.9 billion won ($293 million), while admissions dropped 32.5 per cent to 42.5 million, according to data highlighted at the 30th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF). Average profitability for 2024 Korean commercial films stood at minus 16.4 per cent, exacerbating the slowdown as fewer films meet even mid-tier success benchmarks of three million viewers, according to Korea JoongAng Daily.
As reported by Park Hye-eun for Korea JoongAng Daily, “The post-pandemic drought in the film industry may last two to three years.”
Government Officials and Experts Highlight Structural Challenges
Chae Hwi-young, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, warned at a cabinet meeting in Seoul presided over by President Lee Jae Myung that the cultural content industry, particularly films, faces a tremendous crisis with no immediate breakthrough, emphasising that K-culture serves as a core economic engine requiring emergency government funds to catalyse recovery. The minister noted that commercial Korean film releases, previously around 60 annually, have plummeted to just a third in 2025, with even CJ ENM, which has invested in over 400 films, releasing only one homegrown title this year. Film critic Kim Hyung-seok told Korea JoongAng Daily that while megahits like ‘Exhuma’ (2024) and ‘The Roundup’ (2022) emerge occasionally, most films fail to achieve profitability, leading to reduced reinvestment and future lineups.
Absence from Cannes Underscores International Setbacks
No South Korean live-action films received invitations to the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, the first such absence from the official selection in more than a decade and the third consecutive year without competition entries, as reported by the South China Morning Post, signalling a broader decline amid a brain drain to streaming platforms. Korean films have appeared regularly at Cannes since 1984, when Lee Doo-yong’s Mulleya Mulleya marked the first selection, but only a short animated film, Glasses by Jung Yoo-mi, featured in the parallel Critics Week. Yoon Ha, head of policy development at Kofic, identified the core issue as fewer films being produced, urging government support from planning stages, according to Korea JoongAng Daily.
Industry Leaders Push for Expanded State Support and Global Partnerships
Experts and executives agree that private investment alone cannot sustain the sector, with an anonymous film investment company executive telling Korea JoongAng Daily that investor-distributors cannot afford basic planning fees, calling for government tax credits on production costs. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism allocated 10 billion won for mid-budget films in 2025, but critic Kim Hyung-seok noted this falls short given distribution and marketing costs of one to 1.5 billion won per film. Chae Hwi-young announced plans to raise the loss provision rate from 15 per cent to 20 per cent while increasing private sector profit shares from 30 per cent to 40 per cent to lower investment risks, as covered by The Korea Times. Government contributions to the state-run Mother Fund rose to 35 billion won in 2025 for film production, aiming to ensure capital flow amid the downturn, per KoBiz. At BIFF’s Asian Contents & Film Market (ACFM), activity surged with new partners from Canada, Latin America and the Middle East, reflecting a shift towards international co-productions to pool resources, according to We Are Resonate. The rise of online streaming services during the pandemic has accustomed audiences to OTT platforms like Netflix, complicating theatrical recovery and prompting a re-evaluation of film definitions, KoBiz reported.
South Korea’s film industry has contracted sharply in 2025, with slashed releases, revenue losses and absent global accolades prompting unified calls for enhanced government funding, risk mitigation and overseas collaborations to stabilise production and distribution.
