‘The King’s Warden’ Leads Korea to Best First Half Box Office Since Pandemic

By Naman Ramachandran

Naman Ramachandran

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Local films drove Korean box office recovery in the first half of 2026, with total industry revenue reaching KRW579 billion ($399.1 million) on 57.05 million admissions, up 41.9% and 34.2% year-on-year, respectively, according to figures released by the Korean Film Council (KOFIC).

Local titles accounted for the bulk of that growth. Korean-film revenue totaled KRW370.2 billion ($255.2 million) from 37.37 million admissions, an increase of 81.7% and 74.9% year-on-year. It is the strongest first-half showing for local cinema since the pandemic, with revenue now equivalent to 94.2% of the pre-pandemic first-half average calculated across 2017 to 2019.

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