小火星

Chapter 268: Masterpiece (5)

The peak season at the cinema brings a fresh breeze to the media as well. It’s the same for the entire entertainment industry. New movies appear every week, and they wage wars against each other. What a delicious spectacle this is! It might be hell for the movies themselves, but for the media and the public, there is no better spectacle.

『[Movieis]“Peak Season Cinema Scene is Brutal”, ‘Island of the Missing’ is #1 but Advance Ticket Sales Expected to Fluctuate Continuously』

People watch the movies they are interested in and observe the movie wars. They see which movie is gaining momentum or losing ground.

The most entertaining part of watching is, of course, the fights.

So, the eyes of the public, as well as the entire entertainment industry, are all focused on the cinema. This means there is a high demand, and as time goes by, news articles and various media updates flood in.

And right now, the hottest new release was ‘Island of the Missing’.

Among the numerous films released, it was #1 in advance ticket sales. Of course, this figure is not everything and might be temporary, but for now, it was certainly a positive situation.

‘Tentpole film.’

This term refers to commercial films focused on box office success, featuring famous directors or actors, or involving huge investments. In other words, it means highly anticipated films. If they succeed at the box office and become the flagship movies of the film industry or distributors, they earn the title of tentpole masterpieces.

But there are many hurdles.

Even if a film starts as a tentpole with high expectations, if it fails at the box office, it is simply forgotten. Even if more than ten films are considered tentpole movies, if they all fail at the box office, none of them will receive the title.

That’s how cold the audience, the public, can be.

No matter how much of a peak season it is for movies, the directors, film companies, distributors, and actors presenting the films are on a treacherous path. While hoping for a tentpole hit, they also face the possibility that the long time and hundreds of millions invested might vanish into thin air.

『A good start for ‘Island of the Missing’, word of mouth from the first day audience is crucial』

Considering that, ‘Island of the Missing’, currently number one in ticket presales, had a definite green light. It wasn’t just promotional hype. In fact, screening venues for ‘Island of the Missing’ across the country were packed with viewers. Woojin’s close friends, who had just entered the screening venue for ‘Island of the Missing’, were left gaping.

“Wow, there are so many people. This is insane, right??!”

“Y-yeah. I’ve never seen it this packed before. ‘Island of the Missing’ is on fire.”

“It’s still so surreal that Woojin is the lead in this movie.”

“Even though it’s a peak season on a public holiday……I didn’t expect it to be this crowded.”

Regardless of seat location, the several hundred-seat screening venue was full. Viewers were still entering from the front entrance near the large screen. Kim Dae-young with wide eyes, Lee Kyung-sung with a popcorn tub in one hand, and Na Hyeong-gu sticking close to his girlfriend. The three close friends, overwhelmed by the enormous crowd, somehow managed to find their seats.

A little towards the front, rather than the middle.

As soon as they sat down, advertisements began on the large screen as if waiting for them. Simultaneously, Lee Kyung-sung, munching on his popcorn, spoke up.

“Despite everything, we got decent seats, huh? Nice job, Kim Dae-young. We even got seats together.”

“I told you I bought them as soon as the tickets were available. Hye-yeon-nim told me to. But looking at the current situation, if we were a bit late, we’d have been screwed.”

The conversations of the audience seated nearby reached the ears of the close friends.

“Amazing, amazing! Oppa, we would’ve been in big trouble if we didn’t book in advance, right?”

“Yeah. Wow- it’s been a while since I’ve seen a sold-out movie.”

“Ha, I’m looking forward to it. Last time, ‘Drug Dealer’ was awesome. Since Kang Woojin is in this one too, it should at least be decent, right?”

“Who knows. But the reviews from the preview were really good. And since it’s directed by Director Kwon Ki-taek, we probably don’t have to worry about it being a flop, right?”

Couples, male and female friends, families, and so on.

“Hey, if this movie sucks, you’re dead meat, got it?”

“Stop whining already. Just sit and watch quietly. The cast is impressive, and seriously, none of the works Kang Woojin has been in have failed.”

“Damn it, I want to watch ‘Secret Mission 5’. That movie blew up as a masterpiece overseas.”

“Watch that after this, idiot.”

The entire atmosphere was filled with anticipation before the movie started.

“Did you see the trailer with Ryu Jung-min and Kang Woojin in military uniforms? It looked amazing.”

“Yeah! Ha- I’m really watching this movie because of Kang Woojin. I got hooked on him from ‘Male Friend’ as Han In-ho…….I’m really looking forward to this one too.”

That’s when it happened.

-Ssss.

The advertisements ended, and the lights in the screening room turned dark. It signaled the beginning of ‘Island of the Missing’. Hundreds of audience members who filled the screening room all went silent.

A brief moment of tranquility.

In the screening room, only the sounds of a few people coughing, subtle movements, and the crunching of popcorn were heard. That lasted for a few seconds. Then, a powerful sound effect spread throughout the screening room.

-♬♪

Crunch, crunch. The sound of someone running through the bushes. The rough breathing of a man. The sound came first, then the video was projected onto the large screen.

-[“Ugh! Gah! Huff! Fuck- fuck!”]

Private Kim appears, running through the dense forest. The focus of the hundreds of audience members shot up. Everyone stared at the screen. Woojin’s close friends were no exception. Then Private Kim screamed on the screen. The rifle he was holding shook. The angle showed his half-crazed face, then followed his gaze into the forest. It was silent, but the atmosphere was eerie.

And then.

-Bang! Bang! Bang bang bang!

The sound of gunfire filled the screening room. After that.

-[“Ugh- Private Kim.”]

A strange voice was heard. About half of the hundreds of audience members tilted their heads in curiosity.

At this moment.

-Thwack!

A powerful sound effect echoed in the screening room. Most of the audience was startled.

“Eek!”

“Kyaa!!”

“Ah!”

Private Kim’s head was smashed by something long that flew in suddenly. The fragments spread across the large screen. When the tension reached its peak, the title appeared.

-‘Island of the Missing’

The screen went dark again, then transitioned. The location was a morgue. A man in a military uniform was standing there. The angle slowly shifted from his back to show his front. It was Kang Woojin. No, it was Corporal Jin Sun-cheol. As his face filled the screen, small movements could be seen among the hundreds of audience members.

They whispered quietly, trying not to be noticed.

“Wow- he looks completely different.”

“Is that really Kang Woojin?”

The close friends felt a mix of emotions.

‘Wow. He appears right from the start? His lead role is impressive.’

‘……I didn’t know that bastard had this side to him. He looks really cool but also unfamiliar. Damn.’

‘This is so fascinating.’

Was it admiration or exhilaration? Perhaps it was vicarious satisfaction.

-[“Ah- um.”]

Kang Woojin’s character on the screen glanced around nervously. Anxiety and shyness. Timidity and hesitation. It was all over his face. His movements were minimal. Insufficient and weak. His indecision was painfully apparent. To the hundreds of audience members, Woojin’s first impression was.

‘What’s this? He seems like a bit of a pushover character?’

‘He’s unique, but feels somewhat familiar.’

‘His acting is good as always. But I’ve seen timid roles too often.’

‘It’s surprisingly mundane,’ they thought. While his acting seemed solid, the character felt like one they had seen before. At this point, the morgue staff’s conversation with Kang Woojin continued.

-[“Would you like to… confirm?”]

-[“······”]

-[“What would you like to do? If it’s too hard for you……”]

-[“I’ll… I’ll look.”]

Kang Woojin or Corporal Jin Sun-cheol kept mumbling. He glanced around nervously. He was anxious, lacking confidence, succumbing to fear. But as soon as he saw his mother lying in the morgue.

-[“…Mom. Mom.”]

He broke down. He wept. He knelt powerlessly. Yet, even in his weeping, his timidity showed. He swallowed his sobs. For a moment, his restrained cries spread throughout the screening room. The audience thought it was impressive.

‘His acting……is really good.’

Even though the character might seem unremarkable, the emotional changes were natural and swift. Coupled with the direction, the level of engagement shot up drastically.

At that moment.

“…….Huh?”

Most of the audience had question marks in their eyes. It was because of Woojin’s face filling the large screen. He was facing his head down towards the floor, and the angle was camera shooting him from below. Kang Woojin’s eyes. His pupils were timid one moment and twisted the next, constantly changing.

They alternated rapidly, frequently.

Hundreds of audience members felt goosebumps rise on their arms, filled with curiosity.

‘What’s this? What’s happening all of a sudden?’

‘Damn, his expression is creepy.’

‘Crazy. Is he supposed to have multiple personalities or what?’

Kang Woojin’s appearance on screen was so alien. It changed every second. There were no particular lines, but the audience could vividly feel his current state. From this point, the audience started to realize one by one.

“He seems insane.”

“He’s not just timid; does he have some kind of mental illness?”

Corporal Jin Sun-cheol had something.

At that moment.

-Ssss.

Kang Woojin, who had been sobbing on screen, suddenly stopped. His trembling body stiffened.

Did the atmosphere change?

The hundreds of surprised audience members suddenly saw a different Kang Woojin. The weakness that had been there was completely gone. He looked fierce. His eyes were partly filled with madness. Kang Woojin, as if stretching out, twisted his neck from side to side. Then came the line. His voice tone was cold as ice.

[“Shut up. It’s my time now.”]

The angle was a bust shot. Corporal Jin Sun-cheol, smiling faintly. He was a completely different entity. For a moment, the close friends of the actor on screen felt their legs go weak.

‘I… I almost peed myself. Wow- seriously, this bastard’s acting is fucking amazing.’

‘He nailed it. Does his acting improve every year?’

Na Hyeong-gu glanced at his girlfriend beside him, who had a fascinated look on her face, and agonized.

‘Damn, it’s cool as his friend, but I don’t like my girlfriend being so into him. It’s driving me nuts.’

The audience in the screening room was instantly captivated by Kang Woojin on screen.

-[“Cover it.”]

It wasn’t announced by Corporal Jin Sun-cheol’s lines or subtitles. But by this point, all the audience realized.

That guy is a split personality.

Woojin, whose persona had changed, left the morgue. The angle followed, showing his military boots stepping firmly. He arrived at a bathroom. Kang Woojin looked at his phone. Seeing something, the corners of his mouth stretched into a wide grin.

[“Heh, you fucking bitch. How much is the insurance money?”]

Simultaneously, reactions spread throughout the entire screening room. Almost everyone reacted in unison.

“Whoa-”

“Wow······”

“Kuh!!”

This was the charm of the cinema. It shouldn’t be a disturbance, but when everyone is united, they enjoy it together.

In just 10 minutes, Kang Woojin captivated hundreds of viewers.

However, this was only the beginning.

The next day, in the morning.

The day after the storm and tsunami, the morning of the results arrived. Naturally, the topic was ‘Island of the Missing’. In fact, many places were already buzzing about the performance of ‘Island of the Missing’. This started from the early hours.

From movie-related communities to SNS, YouTube, various media, and news outlets.

In numerous domains, people were curious about the winner of this movie battle. Of course, this curiosity wasn’t limited to the online world; it was the same offline as well.

People who went to work.

“Assistant Manager Kim, did you see ‘Island of the Missing’? It premiered yesterday.”

“Ah- no? I’m planning to watch it over the weekend. But I don’t have high expectations.”

“Why not?? It was totally awesome!”

“Well, it’s just that. It feels like a thriller, and I’m not really into those.”

“Oh! You have to see it, seriously, it’s so good! Even though it was a weekday yesterday, the screening I went to was packed. Sold out.”

“Really?? There are a lot of movies to watch that premiered this time. Will ‘Island of the Missing’ take the top spot?”

“100% sure!”

“We’ll see.”

Or conversations among friends.

Maybe because it was a long-awaited boom in the movie industry, the public was excited. There were many movies to watch, and the competition among the newly released films was a highlight. It was even more exciting because a popular Hollywood series was also in the mix.

The entertainment industry was even more intense.

The atmosphere was quite heated. There were endless actors from various agencies, production companies, film companies, and broadcasting stations.

“Which one do you think will be number one? Still ‘Island of the Missing’?”

“That’s the feeling, but there might be a surprising twist. There are so many strong films right now.”

“That’s true. There are so many major films released at once, it’s crazy. It really is peak season.”

“I feel like something big is going to happen this time.”

“Something big?”

“Yeah, like a movie hitting 10 million viewers for the first time in a while.”

“Ah- anyway, my vote goes to ‘Island of the Missing’!”

But it wasn’t time yet. There were still a few minutes left until the results were announced. So, even Kang Woojin, who was currently in Japan, moving to the set of ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’ in a van, was nervous.

‘Ugh- damn, is the results announcement not out yet?? I’m really nervous.’

He tried to act tough, but he couldn’t hide his anxiety. His butt kept twitching slightly.

The other actors of ‘Island of the Missing’ felt the same.

Ryu Jung-min, who was in the middle of a photoshoot, Ha Yu-ra in a meeting, Kim Yi-won resting at home, Jeon Woo-chang lifting dumbbells at the gym, and even Hong Hye-yeon, who made a special appearance.

They were all doing their own things while glancing at their phones or stealing looks at their managers. They were all anxiously waiting for the results.

And then.

-Click!

The sound of a mouse click just spread through a medium-sized studio. It was the studio of Harmony Films, the production company behind ‘Island of the Missing’. This was the place where they held the test screening last time. In such a studio, Director Kwon Ki-taek was present.

Of course, key staff members, the film company’s CEO, executives, and distribution staff were also gathered. Roughly 50 people.

“······”

Everyone’s eyes, including the silent and serious Director Kwon Ki-taek, were fixed on the front screen. Naturally, what was being displayed now wasn’t the movie. The screen was showing the laptop screen of an employee standing beside it.

-[KOPIC Integrated Movie Ticket System]

The official site where you could check the box office results for the entire domestic film industry. However, it hadn’t been updated yet.

5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes.

As time passed, the expressions of those gathered in the studio grew darker. Director Kwon Ki-taek, who had his arms crossed, was no exception. Then, it happened.

“It’s up!! It’s here!!”

The employee in front of the laptop shouted. Simultaneously, Director Kwon Ki-taek and all over 50 people snapped their heads to the front screen.

The results were immediately displayed on the screen.

[May 19, 2021 Audience Count]

[Daily Domestic Box Office]

1. Island of the Missing/ Release Date: May 19/ Audience: 700,223/ Screens: 1159 / Cumulative Audience: 700,223

2. Uprising/ Release Date: May 19/ Audience: 141,781/ Screens: 1001 / Cumulative Audience: 141,781

3. Secret Mission 5/ Release Date: May 12/ Audience: 110,059/ Screens: 955 / Cumulative Audience: 2,435,578

4. The Smugglers/ Release Date: May 19/ Audience: 80,155/ Screens: 910 / Cumulative Audience: 80,155

.

.

.

700,000 viewers in one day. ‘Island of the Missing’ was a monster.

Moreover,

『[Official] ‘Island of the Missing’ has a blockbuster opening day with 700,000 viewers, ties with the highest-grossing film ‘Sea Battle’… Will it top the rankings for the first time in 7 years?』

It was tied with the all time #1 movie for total day-one viewer count in South Korea.

*****

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