Ma Dong-seok plays the role of detective Ma Seok-do in "The Roundup: Punishment." / Courtesy of ABO Entertainment

The crime action franchise, "The Roundup: Punishment," has quickly surpassed 4 million viewers within just five days of its release.

Despite its success, there are growing concerns within the film industry about the overwhelming allocation of screens and seats to this film, potentially squeezing other films out of theaters.

An official at another film production company currently being shown expressed frustration, saying, "No matter how well a film is made, it's challenging to succeed at the box office if theaters don't provide enough screens."

According to the Korea Film Council's data from April 28, "The Roundup: Punishment" surpassed 4 million viewers, with an estimated total attendance of around 4.4 million since its release on April 24. The film is averaging about 900,000 viewers per day.

The break-even point for the fourth installment of "The Roundup" crime action series is approximately 3.3 million viewers.

On April 27, the film set a new record for the highest daily attendance for the series, with 1.22 million viewers, surpassing the previous record held by "The Roundup 3" (2023), which attracted 1.16 million moviegoers. These figures indicate a stronger box office performance compared to its predecessors. The fourth installment continues the story of Detective Ma Seok-do (played by Ma Dong-seok), who is relentless in his pursuit of bad guys.

"The Roundup: Punishment" villain, Baek Chang-gi, a crime boss and former special forces mercenary, is played by Kim Moo-yul. / Courtesy of ABO Entertainment

Absence of other blockbusters

The dominance in theaters of Ma's latest film is reflected in other statistics. On April 27, the film accounted for 94.3 percent (12 billion won) of total box office revenues.

In contrast, the second-highest-grossing film, "Kung Fu Panda 4," accounted for only 3.1 percent of the total viewership. "The Roundup: Punishment" was screened 17,616 times, accounting for 82 percent of the total screenings nationwide.

The film also responsible for filling 85.9 percent of all cinema seats nationwide, totaling 2,668,000 seats.

With a reservation rate exceeding 90 percent, theaters are emphasizing the need to extensively screen the new film, as it aligns with audience preferences. On April 27, the pre-booking rate for "The Roundup: Punishment" was 47.5 percent, far higher than the 27.7 percent for "Kung Fu Panda 4."

The absence of other notable blockbusters has further heightened the focus on the new Crime City movie. Hwang Jae-hyun, in charge of strategic support at CGV, noted, "Screen allocations are flexibly managed based on audience demand. It's just a temporary concentration of audiences on 'The Roundup: Punishment.'"

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, sister publication of The Korea Times, was translated by generative AI and edited by staff of The Korea Times.