South Korea's box office revenue rose 41.9% year-on-year in the first half of 2026, according to figures from the Korean Film Council (KOFIC), with growth driven largely by a string of domestic hits. The King's Warden, a period drama from director Jang Hang-jun, became the highest-grossing Korean film of all time and the first domestic release in two years to top 10 million admissions, underlining a strong recovery for the local industry after years of pandemic-hit trading.

Total box office revenue reached $396.6M between January and June, up from $279M a year earlier, while admissions climbed 34.2% to 57 million; Korean films alone posted an 81.7% jump in revenue to $254M and took nearly two-thirds of overall market share. The King's Warden led the chart with $111.7M from 16.9 million admissions, followed by Yeon Sang-ho's zombie thriller Colony and horror title Salmokji: Whispering Water, with Korean studio Showbox — distributor of all three — holding a 48.6% market share ahead of Disney's 13.8%. Among foreign releases, Project Hail Mary topped imports with $22.6M, ahead of Avatar: Fire and Ash and Michael, while revenue from premium formats such as IMAX and 4D rose 56.3% year-on-year.