[Courtesy of Walt Disney]
With seven main episodes and countless spin-off contents in forms of games, novels, short films and animations, Star Wars is the most loved film franchise in the world. In South Korea, its force seems not so strong.
The new Star Wars spin-off film "Rogue One" has been ranked eighth this week in South Korea's box-office list, a rare sight to witness as it has been sweeping the box-offices in other countries. Experts speculate it's near-impossible for the global hit, released two weeks ago, to re-enter the top five in South Korea's box-office.
"I am interested in watching the new Star Wars film, but because so many films were released, I have to watch every one of them before I wanna go watch Rogue One," Jeong Goo-seong, a 31-year-old designer who visits theaters about once a month, told Aju News.
Like Jeong, many moviegoers are interested in the Star Wars franchise but they flinch and wonder if they have to watch the whole series to get the full understanding of the whole plot. "Do I have to watch every episode beforehand?" asked an online community user "Bonghwabear", followed by similar questions.
"For the main story, watching the films in order will help. But for the new spin-off, it's not necessary," said Kim Kyo-suk, a pop-culture critic. "Movie fans experience the same dilemma every time a new Star Wars film is released."
Recognizing their concerns, Walt Disney Korea has promoted Rogue One as "a fun film to watch even if a viewer has no knowledge of the Star Wars story".
Kim said the lack of superstars in the new spin-off has affected it ticket power. "Rogue One's casts are famous, but are not their favorites."
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
