‘Battleship Island’ accused of screen monopoly
SEOUL: Much-talked about film ‘The Battleship Island’, starring Song Joong-ki, set two records on its opening day Wednesday.
First it drew 970,516 viewers, but it also opened on an unprecedented 2,027 theatres, breaking the previous record set by ‘Captain America: Civil War’ in 2016 and pushing everything else out of sight.
The film, which depicts the plight of Korean slave labourers on Hashima Island in World war II, has reignited debate about the monopolization of theatres by big blockbusters. Even though it did not completely take over because multiplexes also show other movies, it still accounted for 37 per cent of all screens.
And the figures also need to tally the number of times a film is shown. Of 18,440 screenings in domestic theatres on Wednesday, ‘The Battleship Island’ accounted for a staggering 55.2 per cent. In other words, it took up more than half the screenings and the busiest evening slots, so for many moviegoers there was simply nothing else to see.
‘Battle ship Island’ is distributed by CJ Entertainment, the movie arm of Korea’s largest entertainment conglomerate CJ E&M, which owns CGV, the country’s largest movie theater chain.
The film’s distributor CJ has faced accusations of monopolising screens for numerous films in the past, including last year’s ‘Operation Chromite’.
Director Min Byung-hun, known for 2015’s ‘Love Never Fails’, criticised the company via social media Wednesday, saying, “I did not even expect coexistence (with other films). But (CJ) should at least have a conscience.”
In response to the controversy, CJ said Thursday there could be an exaggeration in the numbers. But the company acknowledged that around 2,000 screens had been readied for the film’s opening.
CJ added that “the number of screens on which to show the movie is decided by each individual theatre and is unrelated to the distributor.”
I did not even expect coexistence (with other films). But (CJ) should at least have a conscience. – Min Byung-hyun, director