hankyoreh

Ha Hoe-jin

By Hong Jae-seok, cinema correspondent

Feature animation The Nut Job is attracting attention after soaring to the second spot at the North American box office. The film was funded by Korean studios, with Korean animators taking the lead in its production.

On Jan. 20, Box Office Mojo, an American movie website, said that The Nut Job had earned US$25.26 million in revenue in 3,427 theaters across the US since its release on Jan. 17. Since it debuted in third place with US$4.8 million in opening day sales, the movie has been warmly received by audiences, pulling in US$20.46 million over the next three days and peaking at second place. During the first weekend alone, the film recouped half of its production cost (US$42 million), more than doubling the previous record for North American box office sales by a South Korean film in just four days of screening. (The previous record was held by D-War, which made US$10.92 million).

The movie was produced by South Korean film studio Red Rover, which put up 45 billion won (US$42.25 million) of the production cost. South Korean animators worked with Canadian animation studio ToonBox Entertainment on character design, computer graphics, and 3D work.

The North American market - which comprises the US and Canada - is a massive US$10.8 billion market that represents over 30% of global cinema. The previous record for ticket sales by a South Korean film in North America had been set by the 2007 movie D-War, directed by Shim Hyung-rae. That film premiered in 2,277 theaters in North America and attracted 8.46 million viewers in South Korea alone, buoyed by a patriotic marketing campaign that boasted how the film had made the best overseas showing of any South Korean film.

But in the North American market, the film was panned as being “Z-grade” - the lowest possible rating for a film - and for having an utterly predictable script. It ended up only making US$11 million at the box-office there.

Aside from D-War, South Koreans films that have surpassed 10 million viewers at home - such as The Host, Taegukgi: The Brotherhood of War, and Masquerade - have only earned from US$900,000-2 million in North America. On the upper end of the scale is director Kim Ki-duk’s art film Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring, which reached US$2.38 million in revenue.

Even just in terms of its initial showing, The Nut Job is of particular significance in South Korea’s continuing efforts to break into the global film market. Critics believe that the strategy of aiming at the global market from the planning stage of production - working with director Peter Lepeniotis, who was involved with Toy Story and Ratatouille, screenwriter Lorne Cameron, and ToonBox, one of Canada’s top three studios - proved effective.

While The Nut Job’s production costs were only half of the average cost of a Hollywood animation (US$80 million), the film is so well-made that it is difficult to see any differences from a Hollywood film. It also gives a nod to South Korean viewers without alienating the overseas audience by including an animated music video in the ending credits that features Psy and various animal friends dancing to “Gangnam Style.” While The Nut Job cannot be seen as a purely Korean film, in an age where the cultural boundaries between countries are gradually eroding, the method used by The Nut Job suggests another advanced strategy for exporting Korean popular culture.

“Based on the initial box-office performance of The Nut Job, I think we can expect US$80-100 million in the US market alone,” said Ha Hoe-jin, president of Red Rover, during an interview with the Hankyoreh on Jan. 21. “In a period when cultural barriers are being broken down by social media, Nut Job will demonstrate that South Korean animations can also hold their own in the world.”

Open Road Films, a company created from the merger of the two largest film distributors in North America, is in charge of the film in North America. Global distributors Warner Bros. and the Weinstein Co. will be handling global distribution in the UK and the rest of the world, respectively.

The Nut Job is a caper film aimed at kids. It tells the story of a mischievous squirrel named Surley and the mouse Buddy, his best friend. After Surley accidentally burns down the food storehouse that a group of animals share, he and Buddy head to New York to rob a peanut warehouse there. The film will reach South Korea theaters on Jan. 29.

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