Lim Young-woong's concert documentary 'Im Hero The Stadium' soars to box office success

Trot singer Lim Young-woong is dominating local theaters with his film “Lim Young Woong│Im Hero The Stadium,” leading box office sales less than a week since its premiere last Wednesday.

A still from trot singer Lim Young-woong's concert film “Lim Young Woong│Im Hero The Stadium” [MULGOGI MUSIC, CJ ENM]

Trot singer Lim Young-woong is dominating local theaters with his film “Lim Young Woong│Im Hero The Stadium,” leading box office sales less than a week since its premiere last Wednesday.

The CGV-exclusive film, "Lim Young Woong | Im Hero The Stadium," captures live performances and behind-the-scenes footage from Lim's concerts at the Seoul World Cup Stadium in May.

The film topped box office sales, surpassing 798 million won ($595,000) on Sunday, according to the Korea Box Office Information System (Kobis). It was followed by the sci-fi horror film “Alien: Romulus,” which premiered two weeks earlier on Aug. 14.

The concert documentary film also recorded more than 1.42 billion won in ticket sales on its release date alone.

Although it is topping box office sales, the film ranked No. 4 in daily moviegoers with 27,580 on Sunday, following films “Alien: Romulus,” “Pilot” and “Heartsping: Teenieping of Love.”

The high box office revenue for "Lim Young Woong│Im Hero The Stadium" compared to its audience numbers is due to the relatively high ticket prices for concert films, as well as the fact that audiences are flocking to special screening theaters such as IMAX and ScreenX.

ScreenX theaters charge 32,000 won per ticket, while IMAX tickets are priced at 35,000 won for films exclusively screened at CGV, making them more expensive than regular 2D theaters, which generally cost around 15,000 won per ticket.

The film has garnered more than 170,000 moviegoers since its premiere, which is faster than the singer's previous concert documentary film, “Im Hero The Final,” released in March last year, which eventually attracted more than 250,000 total moviegoers.

A poster of trot singer Lim Young-woong's concert documentary film ″Lim Young Woong | Im Hero The Stadium″ [MULGOGI MUSIC, CJ ENM]

BY KIM JI-YE [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]