Hong Sang Soo and Kim Min Hee’s Film On the Beach at Night Alone Fails at the Box Office

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• Well, on the contrary I think this whole affair scandal actually boosted ticket sales a little. Hong Sang Soo isn't a hitmaker anyway just like Kim Ki Duk - they're adored everywhere else except South Korea. His last movie got even less admissions (Yourself and Yours - 16,668; got it from the Hancinema site), that's why I'm pretty sure he and Kim Min Hee will be still churning out similar dramedies. His movies are cheap to make and they always find place in international movie festivals - and that's some kind of a path.
  By the way, I'm pretty indifferent towards their extramarital affair. I'm only curious about Kim Min Hee's future career if there's any.

  • I think she will be fine with both her her latest movies are international hits.
    They still gave her best award even after the scandal.

  • I've seen Kim ki duk and can vouch that the ones I have watched are praise worthy. Like 3 irons or spring, winter,summer and Fall, especially Time, which had a very interesting story and shed light on Korea's plastic surgery culture, and the actors nailed it too, needless to say. If a story is good, people are bound to watch it...whether they hate the director or not,IMO. Unless we are talking about a murderer here lol. But it's not for us to give verdict and judge someone because we don't have entry to their private life, so it would be difficult to come to a conclusion or to know who's more to blame.

    • I love 3-Irons by Kim Ki Duk, although some his movies don't really suits my taste...

• Its not really fail. Its an indie film. There are many film has same amount of tickets without any scandal. At least it still top 10.

  I heard the movie is going to Cannes.

• good

• But Hong Sang Soo's films were never commercial hits anyway, the level of tickets sold in South Korea doesn't seem to be any different from his last movie with Kim Min Hee (when the affair wasn't known).

  • I guess ppl not watching the snow is because it does not have a compelling concept. Morever it sounds like a story they already know - HSS telling his own story ...
    And what is there to see in the movie. A woman siting on the beach? Sounds like a boring pitch to me .....

  • Koala probably had no idea lol

    • I've seen enough of Hong Sang Soo's movie to conclude that his movies are the most self-indulgent ones to the extent of them being his self-fantasies of man-woman relationships. The first couple that I saw gave me some fresh vibe and take on such relationships but by the last one I saw - Right Now Wrong Then, his first collaboration with KMH - I almost quit half
      -way as I thought I had seen it so many times in his previous movies.

  • Yes, he's had movies that performed comparable or worse in the past, like Yourself and Yours last year, Hill of Freedom in 2014, Nobody's Daughter Hae Won in 2013, In Another Country in 2012, just to name a few. Aprox 30.000 admissions in 5 days isn't too bad, although yeah the movie might have performed better without the backstage drama and with the help of the hype from the Berlin Film Festival, but who can say for sure.

• who want to watch a movie with KMH her career is gone. after her affair.

  • I will if the movie/drama is something I like.

    • me too. I will watch it, the scandal is nothing to gloat about compared to other world problems

  • The theaters isn't empty. A lot people did.
    This movie did better than his last one actually

• She can act in 1-2 films with him.,. Then she will leave him once the movie tanks
  It will be good for them to break up

• It's not a fail.
  These kind of movies are cheap to make and they already broke even by the end of the 1st week.

  • Yes, all his movies are low cost production without any proper set or design. It's just a camera panning between a man and a woman in a few non-descrip indoor or outdoor settings. Being an indie and art movie lover, I can't understand his able to get awards again and again. The first one would be understandable but not the subsequent ones.

    • Thanks PYC....
      I might give it a pass
      I might watch it on DVD but not in the cinema
      I don't feel like giving them money for the movie ...
      I know scandals are not related to the quality of acting and directing but I would like to see that they are responsible for their actions

      Kristen Stewart was apologetic to the press regarding her flirtations with the director in Snow White, though at a big cost of losing the lead part in the sequels.

      The director was also remorseful though he lost the marriage. Now Kristen is accepted and rewarded for her hard work in indie and commercial films due to her reputation being restored - as she had immediately discontinued liaisons and relationships with the director even though he is already divorced.

      If Hollywood is wary of scandals, I think it's the same for South Korean Film industry.

• I like his films a lot and even rewatch them. And it doesn't seem like the production costs are high in his films. As Pyc said above it is usually just a camera panning between actors. There is a certain something in his films that appeals to me. The loser characters, the female chracters usually are much stronger than the male ones (not a frequent occurence even in indie circuit) despite the males constantly trying to sexually expolit the females in his films -to some very funny results. I actually like the way he is both cruel and nice to his characters who seem like real people.

  I think the scandal actually helped to boost the sales in this case (maybe people are curious)

• As much as I hate their affair, that director is really talented, and is revered by film critics and cinema students like me. His works are arthouse, Koala you cannot expect it to be hits. And if market pundits estimated that, they are very wrong because his previous works have not done any better in the box office. But scholars and critics write books on him, a new one is gonna come out in Uni of london next year. Since when was arthouse or parallel cinema box office earners lol

  So this article is quite ignorant actually, no offense :)

  • This, though. His movies are never intended for commercial one, but the critics highly regard his creations. So, IMHO, his movie flopping in box office is not new. HSS himself is aware of this and if anyone watch some of his movie, you might find some of his personal rants and idealism about movie industry spouted here and there by the main characters. Obviously he didn't care whether the mainstream audiences care about his movie or not.

• If these two are shunned by their nation in the future it makes sense. I mean people can say day in and out that career and personal life must be seperated but the human mind operates the same way everywhere. We never look at people the same, when we find out about their dirt. Yes all of us are flawed and sinful but we tend to hide our bad deeds for a reason. A sane society will NEVER reward shameless immoral behavior, i.e. whenever the guilty party brags about it. Which is the case here. This is a logical consequence. People will NEVER look at you the same, period. Not even your parents. A few celebs might sometimes get away with it, but in general, society is BOUND to judge you. Ask Tiger Woods.