Korean box office 2026 first half jumps 42% on local hits
KOFIC says South Korea’s box office rose 41.9% in the first half, powered by The King’s Warden and other homegrown films.
By Bianca Rossi · Entertainment Editor
3 min read
The Korean Film Council says the Korean box office 2026 first half surged 41.9% in revenue, as local films led by The King’s Warden, Colony and Salmokji: Whispering Water pulled audiences back into theaters.
According to KOFIC figures reported by Deadline, total box office revenue in South Korea reached $396.6 million, or KRW579 billion, from January through June. That compares with $279 million, or KRW408 billion, in the same stretch of 2025.
Admissions also moved sharply higher. KOFIC put first-half ticket sales at 57 million, up 34.2% year on year.
What drove the Korean box office 2026 rebound?
Homegrown films did the heavy lifting. KOFIC figures show Korean titles generated $254 million, or KRW370.2 billion, a 81.7% rise from the first half of last year, while admissions for Korean films climbed 74.9% to 37.37 million.
That put local movies well ahead of imports for the period. Korean films accounted for 63.9% of overall revenue and 65.5% of admissions, according to the council’s data.
The recovery also brought Korean film revenue close to its pre-pandemic pace. KOFIC said first-half revenue for Korean titles reached 94.2% of the average for the same periods from 2017 to 2019, when the average was KRW392.9 billion.
The King’s Warden rules the chart
The King’s Warden was the first-half champion by a wide margin. Deadline reported that Jang Hang-jun’s period drama, starring Yoo Hae-jin, Park Ji-hoon and Yoo Ji-tae, earned $111.7 million, or KRW163.1 billion, from 16.9 million admissions.
The film also became the highest-grossing Korean film of all time, according to Deadline’s report. It was the first Korean release in two years to pass 10 million admissions and ranks second all time in admissions behind The Admiral: Roaring Currents.
Korean titles also held the next two spots on the first-half chart. Yeon Sang-ho’s zombie thriller Colony, which screened in Cannes Midnight Screenings, took $41 million, or KRW60.5 billion. The low-budget horror film Salmokji: Whispering Water followed with $22.8 million, or KRW33.3 billion.
Which foreign film led in South Korea?
Project Hail Mary was the top-grossing imported film in South Korea for the first half, earning $22.6 million, or KRW33 billion, according to the reported KOFIC figures. It finished ahead of Avatar: Fire And Ash and Michael among foreign releases.
Foreign films had a flatter first half overall. Revenue from imported movies rose 2.3% to $143 million, or KRW208.8 billion, while admissions fell 6.9% to 19.68 million.
A24’s Backrooms stood out on the indie side. Deadline reported it was the highest-grossing independent film across both local and foreign releases, with $8.5 million, or KRW12.4 billion, and 1.16 million admissions.
Premium screens gave the box office extra bite
Special format screenings became a bigger piece of the market. KOFIC said revenue from formats including IMAX, 4D, ScreenX and Dolby Cinema rose 56.3% year on year to $31.3 million, or KRW45.7 billion.
Deadline reported those premium formats supplied a significant share of the box office for Avatar: Fire And Ash and Project Hail Mary.
Showbox, which released the top three Korean films of the period, was the leading distributor with a 48.6% market share, according to the reported figures. Disney ranked second with 13.8%.
This story draws on original reporting from Deadline.