‘The First Slam Dunk’, ‘solidifying’ first place before coming to Marvel

《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 performance of ‘The First Slam Dunk’, which captivated audiences in their 30s and 40s, is extraordinary. It rose to first place at the box office, pushing out 'Negotiation' starring Hwang Jung-min and Hyun Bin, and maintained its position for 10 consecutive days.

'The First Slam Dunk' is a movie depicting the dreams, passion, and never-ending challenges of the five members of the Buksan High School basketball team who dream of winning the national championship. It is also the theatrical version of the Japanese cartoon 'Slam Dunk', which caused the basketball boom in the 1990s. In particular, original manga artist Takehiko Inoue is attracting attention as he directed and wrote 'The First Slam Dunk'.

As of February 6, 'The First Slam Dunk' recorded a cumulative audience of 2,348,332. 'The First Slam Dunk', which was released on January 4th, started in second place at the box office on the first day of release. Currently, it has surpassed 'Negotiations' and is maintaining its #1 spot at the box office for 10 consecutive days. This is because it brought back memories of 3040 and brought people to the theater. While it is being shown in both dubbed and subtitled versions, there is a growing craze for watching it to the Nth degree. In addition, stars such as Haha, Chun Woo-hee, Lee Cheong-ah, Park Eun-hye, and Seo Ji-seok also participated in the verification of viewing.

‘The First Slam Dunk’ ranked 3rd in the box office rankings of all-time Japanese animations released in Korea. 1st place is ‘Your Name’ (3.79 million people), 2nd place is ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’ (2.61 million people). ‘The First Slam Dunk’ surpassed the records of ‘Demon Slayer: Infinite Train’ (2.18 million viewers) and ‘Spirited Away’ (2.16 million viewers).

Currently, Jin Seon-kyu's first leading role, 'Count', 'Next Sohee', 'Maybe We Broke Up', and 'When Our Love Remains as a Fragrance' are scheduled for release. However, except for the Marvel movie 'Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantum Mania', which will be released on February 15th, no masterpieces are noticed. Also, 'Negotiation' and 'Ghost' are not performing well. In fact, it appears that 'The First Slam Dunk' will continue its run until 'Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantum Mania' is released.

Attention is being paid to whether it will be able to solidify its first place and at the same time surpass 'Spirited Away' and jump up the all-time Japanese animation box office rankings. Lim Seong-rok, manager of the public relations department of distributor NEW, said, "'The First Slam Dunk' presents memories, emotions, and joy that make you feel like you've returned to the time when you first encountered 'Slam Dunk', and the relationships between the characters and exciting game scenes make it 'Nth'. "It is a long-term box office hit thanks to word of mouth that it is a movie that must be seen in theaters amidst the craze for 'watching the movies.' In addition, its influence has expanded beyond the film industry to distributors, so public interest and box office success are expected to continue," he said.

He continued, “As the competition to secure IP for theatrical animation is fierce, the ability of distributors to quickly detect audience tastes and trends has become more important. NEW is in close communication with major multiplex theaters and jointly planning goods and events that reflect the needs of the public. “We are trying to repay the support,” he added.

Manager Lim Seong-rok said, "'The First Slam Dunk', which started with a craze centered on those in their 30s and 40s and has spread to family audiences, is expected to achieve a meaningful final score among all Japanese animation works released in Korea." .

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