What Korean films can learn from 'Oppenheimer' and 'Elemental'

Movies 'Oppenheimer' and 'Elemental' are set to break 2 million and 7 million respectively this weekend. This year, the film industry is showing outstanding strength in foreign films, starting with 'Avatar: Water Road', which started at the beginning of the year, and Japanese animation films 'The First Slam Dunk' and 'Suzume's Lockdown'. This is the opposite of how Korean films groan over the lack of blockbuster films after the failure of 'The Moon' and the tentpole (summer blockbuster). Korean films have constantly competed with foreign films, but this year, the trend is particularly weak.

'Oppenheimer' (director Christopher Nolan), which was released in Korea on the 15th, has a cumulative audience of 1,885,776 as of the 24th, and is expected to exceed 2 million over the weekend. 'Oppenheimer' is a new film by Christopher Nolan, a world-renowned film master. It deals with Oppenheimer's nuclear development project, a genius scientist who has to take the risk of destroying the world to save it. It attracted audiences faster than Nolan's masterpieces, 'Inception' and 'The Dark Knight'.

'Oppenheimer' has a long running time of up to 3 hours, and it is pointed out that it is difficult to understand the movie without background knowledge. However, the realization of the nuclear explosion scene without using CG at all and the visualization of the chain reaction of emotions by looking at Oppenheimer's life from three perspectives are generally well-received. It is receiving favorable reviews for showing the depth of director Nolan. Although there is a distance in terms of so-called popularity, the movie itself is evaluated as a work that has many virtues.

There is another foreign currency that stands out in the theater district. 'Elemental' (director Peter Sohn) recorded a cumulative audience of 6,946,760, putting the 7 million notice in front of its nose. 'Elemental' is the story of Amber, who is witty and full of passion like fire, and discovers new possibilities while building a special friendship with Wade, who is pleasant and emotional. Expectations were raised as a follow-up to Disney-Pixar's 'Inside Out'.

As of now, when it comes to the best winner in the second half of the year, ‘Elemental’ deserves to be picked. 'Elemental', which was released on June 14th, has been on a long run, being chosen by the audience for three months thanks to the novelty of the movie itself and word of mouth from the audience. 'Elemental' ran to the 7 million mark, running second in the overall box office score this year, following 'Sin City 3', which reached 10 million films.

'Elemental' is characterized by ingenious imagination and witty directing through the personification of elements such as fire and water, drawing family-level audiences to the theater and riding word of mouth. Unlike the sluggishness in the North American market, it is a box office sensation in Korea. There is an evaluation that the narrative of the work fits the Korean sentiment. It is evaluated that the storytelling, which is based on the vivid experience of director Peter Sohn, a second-generation immigrant, has reached the Korean audience in a special way.

In this way, in order to be chosen by the audience, there must be something that will captivate the audience with certain advantages and characteristics. The key to that answer lies in the film itself. Expensive ticket prices and new releases on OTT cannot be the reasons for the stagnation in theaters. It is time for some film officials who are only blaming the audience to wake up. It is difficult to blame the environment or others for foreign currency records. Among the top 10 box offices of 2023, there are only three Korean films. It is difficult to call the audience to the theater with the old-fashioned Chungmuro narration. It takes bone-breaking effort, but many officials say that such magnetic movement is not visible. It is a time for new challenges and changes.

Jiye Choi, staff reporter at TenAsia wisdomart@tenasia.co.kr