Refer Report

Movies that gave up on being released around Chuseok are trying to avoid direct confrontation with ‘Veteran 2’ and are now competing in theaters in October, which is considered the traditional off-season for theaters.

While the box office success of ‘Veteran 2’, which surpassed 6 million viewers, has slowed down, Korean commercial films of various genres are scheduled to be released one after another. These films are competing with the first Hollywood film ‘Joker: Folly A Doe’ to be released in 5 years.

First, Kim Go-eun, who rose to the ranks of 10 million actresses with ‘Breakfast’, will be appearing for the first time on October 1st in ‘Love in a Big City’, in which she collaborates with Noh Sang-hyun.

This film, which is based on the book ‘Jaehee’ of the same name by Park Sang-young, who was also nominated for the Booker Prize, follows the lives of Jae-hee (Kim Go-eun), a free-spirited man who does not care what others think, and Heung-su (Noh Sang-hyun), who is accustomed to keeping his distance from the world. They depicted their own way of loving.

Kim Go-eun, who left an impression on the audience as MZ shaman Hwarim in the previous work, appears as the face of a wandering youth. Noh Sang-hyun, who received worldwide attention as Lee Isaac in Apple TV+’s ‘Pachinko’, is making his big screen debut as a sexual minority.

The movie captures the 13 years that Jae-hee and Heung-su were together, from their college days when all they had was ambition, to the time when realistic concerns such as work and marriage deepened. In this process, Kim Go-eun and Noh Sang-hyun’s unique acting and Tiki Taka evoke laughter, worry, and support from the viewers.

‘Ordinary Family’, which is considered this year’s controversial film, will be released on October 16th. This is a new film released by director Heo Jin-ho of ‘Christmas in August’ and ‘One Day in the Spring’, five years after ‘Astronomy: Asking the Sky’.

This movie is a suspense drama about four people living with their own beliefs, but everything falls apart when they see CCTV footage of children’s crime scenes.

It focuses on the unconventional setting of children committing murder, the ironic situation of parents at a crossroads of choice, and the duality of humanity revealed in it, raising the topic of ‘What choice would you make for your child?’

Sol Kyeong-gu and Kim Hee-ae will present three works in a row, including ‘The Moon’, ‘Storm’, and ‘Ordinary Family’. This is Jang Dong-gun’s first film in six years, as he had been on hiatus due to controversy over his personal life, and Soo-hyun, who recently announced her divorce, is also meeting domestic audiences for the first time through this film.

NCT’s Jeong Jae-hyun’s screen debut ‘6 Hours Later You’ll Die’ will also be released in theaters on the same day.

It is a time-limited emotional mystery mystery drama in which Jeong-yoon, who is told by the death prophet Jun-woo while walking down the street that he will die in 6 hours, goes to find the culprit to change the predicted future.

Jaehyun Jeong takes on the challenge of appearing on the screen as Junwoo, a mysterious character who predicts death. Park Joo-hyun, who is actively working on both the cathode ray tube and the big screen, will play the role of Jeong Yoon, the protagonist of the death prophecy, and will show off a deep and multi-layered emotional performance. Kwak Si-yang plays the role of Ki-hoon, a homicide detective chasing a serial killer, heightening the tension of the film.

‘In 6 Hours You’ll Die’ is a film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Kazuaki Takano, the master of Japanese mystery novels. It was invited to the Korean competition ‘Korean Fantastic: Feature Category’ at the 28th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival in July, and won the Park Joo-hyun Actor Award and the Audience Award. Won two awards so far.

On October 17th, Jungwoo and Kim Dae-myung’s buddy movie ‘Don’t Touch Dirty Money’ will be released. It is a so-called ‘warehouse movie’ that was filmed six years ago.

This movie tells the story of two detectives who dream of committing the perfect crime to turn their lives around, get involved in ‘dirty money’, and then get caught up in an unplanned accident. Director Kim Min-soo, who wrote the screenplays for ‘Bad Guy: World of Bad Guys’ and ‘Kingmaker,’ took charge of directing.

Jung Woo was named as Myeong-deuk, a detective who investigates during the day and takes care of illegal businesses at night, and Kim Dae-myeong played Myeong-deuk’s brother-like partner, Detective Dong-hyuk. This movie is raising expectations with its powerful title, strong unique characters, and a perfect acting ensemble from talented actors.

“Our movie is sexy,” Jungwoo said. “You may misunderstand it as a typical story, but you will be able to feel what it means when you see it in the theater.”

Ryu Seung-ryong and Jin Seon-gyu are preparing to welcome the audience with ‘Amazon Whal Myung-su’. The two are expected to provide refreshing laughter five years after ‘Extreme Job’ (2019), the highest-grossing Korean comedy film of all time, mobilizing 16.26 million viewers.

This movie, which will be released on October 30, is a comedy about Jin Bong, a former national archery representative who is subject to restructuring both at home and at work, when he meets Bang Sik, a Korean Boledor interpreter, and three Amazon warriors with divine archery skills.

Bae Se-young, who wrote the screenplay for ‘Extreme Job’ (2019), wrote the screenplay, and director Kim Chang-ju, who directed ‘Restricted Transmission’ (2021), took the lead.

In addition to Ryu Seung-ryong and Jin Seon-gyu, Brazilian actors Igor Pedroso, Ruan Broome, JB Oliveira, and Chungmuro ​​scene-stealers Yeom Hye-ran, Lee Sun-won, and Go Kyung-pyo, who made their Korean screen debut as the three members of the Amazon Avengers, are expected to perform.

As such, it is expected that there will be fierce competition in theaters in October as new Korean films flock in. In addition to commercial films, the queer film ‘Snowfall’, which shows Han So-hee’s rookie days, and the romantic comedy ‘Do You Want to Marry?’ starring Lee Dong-hwi and Han Ji-eun, co-directed by directors Kim Jong-kwan, Noh Deok, Lee Myung-se, and Jang Hang-jun, and Shim Eun-kyung, who mainly worked in Japan, There are also many small-scale, independent films, including the Korean film ‘The Killers’, which was released for the first time in six years.

Among these, a powerful Hollywood work called ‘Joker: Folly A Doe’ is about to be released. This film, which will be released in theaters on October 1, is a sequel to ‘Joker’ (2019), which was an unusual success for a foreign film not intended for teenagers. It depicts the fateful meeting between Joker (Joaquin Phoenix) and Harley Quinn (Lady Gaga), who are imprisoned in Arkham Asylum, and the Joker’s trial.

Joaquin Phoenix, who gave a great performance in the previous work, reversed his promise not to do genre or series and came back as Joker. Here, Lady Gaga, who has completely transformed herself into a pop star and actress, shows off her crazy ensemble as Harley Quinn.

Although the box office momentum of ‘Veteran 2’ has dropped somewhat, the advance reservation rate is still ranked first. There are also predictions that if a number of new films are released in October, it will be difficult for the first film to reach 10 million views. Attention is focused on whether ‘Veteran 2’ will be able to overcome this skepticism and reach 10 million, or whether a new winner will emerge.

Kim Ye-rang, Hankyung.com reporter yesrang@hankyung.com

Source: Korean