'Spirited Away,' 'Life of Pi,' other adaptations rewrite Korean theater's box office records
The commercial success of large-scale productions based on globally popular intellectual properties (IPs), which typically have higher ticket prices, is changing the perception of theater as an 'inexpensive genre.'
Actor Mone Kamishiraishi, left, performs as Chihiro in the play adaptation of the Studio Ghibli movie “Spirited Away” (2001).JOONGANG ILBO/TOHO THEATRICAL DEPT
Play ticket sales for the first half of this year more than doubled from a year earlier, driven by the popularity of productions based on popular intellectual properties (IPs), according to the Korea Performing Arts Box Office Information System (Kopis) on Sunday.
Total play ticket sales reached approximately 75.9 billion won ($50.6 million) between January and June, marking the highest first-half figure since the Kopis began tracking such data in 2014.
That number has climbed steadily in recent years, from 11.56 billion won in 2021 to 17.21 billion won in 2022, 33.29 billion won in 2023 and 34.26 billion won in 2024.
This year, first-half play sales increased more than twofold from the 37.02 billion won recorded in the first half of last year.
The sharp increase appears to have been driven by the commercial success of large-scale productions based on globally popular IPs, which typically have higher ticket prices.
The Seoul run of the stage adaptation of Studio Ghibli’s “Spirited Away” (2001) was this year’s highest-grossing play as of Saturday, according to Kopis. The Seoul production of the play based on the popular novel “Life of Pi” (2001) came in second.
A scene from the play adaptation of the Studio Ghibli movie “Spirited Away” (2001)TOHO THEATRICAL DEPT
Tickets for “Spirited Away” were priced between 90,000 won and 190,000 won, and those for “Life of Pi” between 60,000 won and 160,000 won.
Both productions took place at large-scale venues in southern Seoul: “Spirited Away” at Seoul Arts Center, which has 2,283 seats, and “Life of Pi” at GS Arts Center, with 1,211 seats.
By comparison, the third-highest-grossing play, “French Safe” (translated), charged audience members between 55,000 won and 77,000 won for a seat. A ticket for “The Merchant of Venice,” ranked fourth, was priced between 44,000 won and 110,000 won.
“These productions challenged the long-held perception that theater is an ‘inexpensive genre’ and demonstrated the commercial potential of a premium-priced theater market for the first time,” the Korea Arts Management Service said in its report for the first quarter of the year.
“Ticket sales were heavily concentrated among the top 10 productions, which suggests that the growth driven by large-scale shows has yet to reach smaller theaters,” the report added.
A scene from the play adaptation of the novel “Life of Pi” (2001)S&CO
Meanwhile, musical ticket sales totaled 223.22 billion won in the first half of the year, down slightly from 237.75 billion won a year earlier.
The decline reflected a lack of major productions, as large-scale musicals that opened in the fourth quarter of last year closed in February and March, according to the Korea Arts Management Service report.
Ticket sales for Western classical music performances rose to 40.38 billion won in the January to June period from 36.12 billion won a year earlier. The figure remained below the 47.37 billion won recorded in the first half of 2024.
Ticket sales for traditional Korean music performances totaled 2.04 billion won, and dance performances generated 7.67 billion won. Both numbers declined slightly from the previous year.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
