‘The important thing is an unbreakable heart’ April screen dominated by sports version

《Kang Min-kyung’s Insert》
Like an insert scene that magnifies important points in a movie, TenAsia reporter Kang Min-kyung focuses on issues in the film industry. Let’s take a closer look at the front and back of the hot topic from a three-dimensional perspective.

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The keyword for theaters in April is ‘sports.’ He is the main character of the movies 'Rebound' and 'Dream', which tell the story of a basketball team and a soccer team. The biggest cheering phrase for the 2022 FIFA Qatar World Cup, ‘The important thing is an unbreakable heart’, is expected to color the theaters.

Recently, distributors Barunson E&A and PlusM Entertainment confirmed the release dates for 'Rebound' and 'Dream'. 'Rebound' will meet audiences on April 5th, and 'Dream' will meet audiences on April 26th. The release dates of ‘Rebound’ and ‘Dream’ are exactly 3 weeks apart.

'Rebound', which will be released first, tells the miraculous story of the 8 days in which the new coach and 6 players of the weakest basketball team that no one paid attention to ran tirelessly during the 2012 National High School Basketball Tournament. It is based on the true story of Busan Jungang High School, which caused a sensation at the 37th Korea Basketball Association Long-term National Used Basketball Tournament in 2012.

'Rebound' is a new work released by director Jang Hang-jun, the husband of writer Eun-hee Kim and nicknamed 'God's 8-year-old', six years after 'A Night of Remembrance'. Here, the lineup consisted of Ahn Jae-hong, Lee Shin-young, Jeong Jin-woon, Kim Taek, Jeong Jeong-ju, Kim Min, and Ahn Ji-ho. Through an audition, people similar to the main characters in the real story were selected.

In January of this year, 'The First Slam Dunk', a 3D version of the Japanese cartoon 'Slam Dunk', attracted 4 million viewers, surpassing 'Your Name' (3.8 million viewers) and breaking the record for the first Japanese animation ever released in Korea. I cleaned it up. The ‘The First Slam Dunk’ boom that occurred in theaters also had an impact on KBL. This is because spectators are coming to the stadium to watch KBL games. Director Jang Hang-jun is also conscious of his own interests. He said, "I checked the box office rankings for 'The First Slam Dunk' every day. It's not my movie, but I've never supported Japanese animation so much in my life."

Director Lee Byung-hun of 'Extreme Job', which attracted 16 million viewers, returns to the screen with 'Dream' after 4 years. 'Dream', which completes the dream team with Park Seo-joon and Lee Ji-eun (IU), is the story of Hong Dae (played by Park Seo-joon), a former soccer player with no concept, and So-min (played by Lee Ji-eun), a passionate producer, who challenge an impossible dream with a ragtag group of homeless national team players. .

While 'Rebound' dealt with the miracle of Busan Jungang High School, 'Dream' was created based on the true story of the 2010 Homeless World Cup, in which Korea participated for the first time. In fact, filming for ‘Dream’ was delayed due to the aftermath of COVID-19. Naturally, the release date was also postponed. After many twists and turns, ‘Dream’ finally saw the light of day. With 'Dream' finally being released, attention is being paid to how Park Seo-joon and Lee Ji-eun will work together.

In addition, '1 Win', which tells the story of a volleyball coach who has never experienced success and takes on a challenge when he meets a women's volleyball team that needs just one win, and '1947 Boston', a marathon film, are also scheduled to be released this year. If sports movies dominate the screens in April, then in the second half of the year, sports movies of a different type meet the audience.

Currently, Japanese animations such as ‘Suzume’s Door Breaking’, ‘The First Slam Dunk’, and ‘Demon Slayer: Gathering the Sanghyeon, and To the Potter’s Village’ occupy the top ranks of the box office. On the other hand, Korean movies are not making much progress. ‘Rebound’ and ‘Dream’ will be released in theaters in April. Attention is being paid to whether 'Rebound' and 'Dream', which highlight the emotion brought by sports, will be able to establish the pride of Korean movies.

Kang Min-kyung, Ten Asia reporter kkk39@tenasia.co.kr