Last July, domestic theaters regained vitality, recording the highest sales and number of audiences of the year.
According to the ‘July 2025 Korean Film Industry Settlement’ released by the Korean Film Council, total theater sales in July amounted to 114.7 billion won, with 11.74 million viewers. This is an increase of 55.2% in sales (40.8 billion won) and 52.2% in the audience (4.03 million) compared to the previous month. Although it slightly decreased compared to the same month last year, it achieved the highest performance of the year.
6,000 won discount coupon effect… Audience surge
The government’s 6,000 won discount coupon policy, implemented to stimulate domestic demand, played a decisive role in this achievement. The effect of the discount coupon distributed from July 25 was immediate. The average daily sales after distribution (July 25-31) were 5.05 billion won, increasing by more than 112% compared to before distribution (2.38 billion won). In the same period, the average daily audience increased from 246,790 to 520,446, more than doubling. Especially on July 30, coinciding with ‘Culture Day’, a whopping 860,000 people visited theaters, marking the highest daily audience number from January to July of this year.
Korean film ‘Noise’, foreign film ‘F1’ lead box office success
There were meaningful achievements in terms of works as well. The sales of Korean films were 41.3 billion won, with 4.37 million viewers, which increased by 48.2% and 47.9%, respectively, compared to the previous month. Particularly, the horror film ‘Noise’, despite never ranking first at the box office, consistently maintained a top position, recording 14.2 billion won in sales and 1.45 million viewers. ‘Noise’, which topped the box office among Korean films, is evaluated as having succeeded in long-term success through word of mouth.
The foreign film ‘F1 the Movie’ stood out. Released at the end of June, it recorded 23.1 billion won in sales and 2.18 million viewers in July, taking the overall box office top position. It consistently remained in the top 3, maintaining long-term success. In addition, ‘Jurassic World: New Beginning’ drove foreign film box office sales with 20.9 billion won in sales and 2.2 million viewers.
Signal of theater recovery
This achievement is perceived as a signal of theater recovery, coinciding with the summer theater peak season. New releases such as the Korean animation ‘King of Kings’, the webtoon-based ‘Reader’s Viewpoint’, and ‘Zombie Daughter’ were released at the end of July, broadening the audience base. In particular, ‘Zombie Daughter’ attracted attention, gathering 430,000 viewers on its opening day.
Experts point out that to prevent this achievement from remaining as a one-time event, stable content supply and continuous operation of the discount coupon policy are necessary. The ‘6,000 won discount coupon’ and the success of box office hits, which coincided, showed the possibility of recovering the stagnant film industry in the revived summer theater season.
