Second-run films are becoming an unexpected lifeline for the struggling Korean film industry, offering both financial relief and a viable survival strategy during an extended market slump. As more classic movie re-releases achieve surprising box office success, they are proving to be much more than just nostalgic entertainment for moviegoers.
The trend has gained significant momentum this year, with over 10 films being re-released monthly in Korean theaters. This September alone features an impressive lineup of renowned titles including Steven Spielberg's beloved sci-fi classic E.T. (1982), the acclaimed Japanese animation Perfect Blue (1997), the epic romance Doctor Zhivago (1965), and Francis Ford Coppola's masterpiece The Godfather (1972).
Distributors are going beyond simple re-screenings by incorporating sophisticated marketing events, often featuring original cast members visiting Korea to promote their films. A prime example is the upcoming re-release of Japanese director Nobuhiro Yamashita's 2005 film Linda Linda Linda, which will return to Korean screens on September 17 to commemorate its 20th anniversary. The heartwarming story follows a group of high school girls who form a band just before their school festival and gained particular attention due to Korean actress Bae Doona's role as a Korean exchange student.
To celebrate this milestone re-release, the film's lead actors will hold a special press conference in Korea on September 12. Bae Doona is scheduled to attend the event, where she will share her reflections on the film's 20th anniversary re-release and participate in an interactive Q&A session with audiences. This type of celebrity engagement has become a key component of successful re-release campaigns.
The strategy has already proven effective with other Asian films. Taiwanese star Gwei Lun-mei made a special trip to Korea in July to celebrate the re-release of her 2002 romantic drama Blue Gate Crossing. Similarly, the popular Taiwanese coming-of-age film You Are the Apple of My Eye was successfully re-released last year, demonstrating the appetite for classic Asian cinema among Korean audiences.
Industry experts attribute this re-release boom to the significant decline in film production investment following the COVID-19 pandemic. The reduced number of new films entering the market has created opportunities for previously successful and critically acclaimed movies to find new audiences. This shift represents a fundamental change in how the industry approaches programming and revenue generation.
The trend reached a turning point in 2023 with the highly successful re-release of James Cameron's Titanic (1997). Building on that success, 2024 became a record-breaking year for film re-releases, with both the number of titles and financial performance reaching unprecedented levels since the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) began systematically tracking re-release data in 2013.
According to KOFIC's comprehensive data, 228 films were re-released in 2024, representing an increase of 80 titles compared to the previous year. The financial impact was equally impressive, with re-release revenues reaching 24.5 billion won (approximately $17.57 million), marking a 16.1 percent increase from 2023. Most significantly, the number of viewers attending re-released films reached 2.5 million, a substantial 29.9 percent increase from the previous year.
This phenomenon extends beyond Korea to the world's largest film market in North America. Steven Spielberg's iconic thriller Jaws, re-released on August 29 to mark its 50th anniversary, earned an impressive $98 million at the box office over Labor Day weekend. The film ranked second behind new releases and achieved the best performance for any re-released film in the past decade, demonstrating the global appeal of classic cinema.
Hollywood studios are increasingly recognizing the potential of leveraging their classic film libraries to boost box office numbers during challenging periods. This strategy has proven largely successful, with recent re-releases of beloved films like the Halloween favorite Hocus Pocus (1993) and the stop-motion animated film Coraline (2009) performing exceptionally well with contemporary audiences across different age groups.
Looking ahead, the industry has ambitious plans for more classic re-releases, including a highly anticipated 40th anniversary screening of the time-travel adventure Back to the Future, originally released in 1985. These initiatives suggest that re-releases will continue to play a crucial role in sustaining the film industry while new production levels gradually recover to pre-pandemic standards.
