Peninsula: I'm the Top Streamer

Chapter 638 Movie Frenzy! Beauties Attract Attention.

The Determination to Break Up is officially released!
"The Decision to Break Up" was screened 5510 times on 1374 screens on its opening day, attracting 11.46 viewers and ranking second at the box office.

The film with the highest number of admissions at the same time was none other than Top Gun: Maverick.

There was only one Hollywood blockbuster released before and after its premiere.

There is no doubt that South Korea has long been a major box office market for Hollywood movies.

Despite falling short of expectations at the box office on its opening day, the film quickly sparked discussion among audiences thanks to its high praise at the Cannes Film Festival (an 8-minute standing ovation) and the acting prowess of Tang Wei and Park Hae-il.

Although it's common knowledge that you can buy a standing ovation at Cannes, most people don't know that. Hearing that it's so impressive, they're all drawn to the cinema.

In the first week (5 days), the cumulative number of moviegoers reached 50.8, ranking second.

While this figure is lower than the 29 opening day gross of director Park Chan-wook's previous film, "The Handmaiden," it is reasonable considering that "Decision to Break Up" is positioned more as an art-house suspense film than a commercial genre film.

As expected by the industry, after the film's release, media reviews were polarized, praising its artistic value while questioning its commercial potential.

However, the overall tone is positive, focusing on Park Chan-wook's directing skills and Tang Wei's performance, while the evaluation of Kwon Heon-hyuk is mostly decorative and positive.

Tang Wei's performance has been the focus of almost unanimous praise.

The Cultural Daily commented that "Tang Wei endowed 'Song Ruilai' with a mysterious, fragile charm, yet possessing an astonishing inner tension."

Her eyes could convey a thousand words, her silence more powerful than any dialogue, portraying a complex woman teetering on the edge of suspicion and love in an unforgettable way. Under Park Chan-wook's direction, her international star quality blended perfectly with the depth of the character.

Her portrayal of Song Seo-rae is considered a strong contender for Best Actress at film festivals.

Yes, Kwon Heonhyuk, the media outlets that followed him generally praised his performance in his limited role.

For example, the entertainment section of Seoul Sports commented.

As the second male lead, Kwon Hyun-hyuk performed admirably. His portrayal of Oh Soo-wan was full of youthful daring and sharpness, delivering a powerful impact within Park Chan-wook's meticulously composed visuals. His scenes with Park Hae-il effectively conveyed the character's impulsiveness and growing doubts. His performance was particularly explosive, especially in the scenes where he questioned his superior in the police station cafeteria and before his murder.

However, it is generally pointed out that this is just a bright supporting role, a vivid piece of the director's overall concept, and the depth and complexity of the character are incomparable to the protagonist.

Comments often mention its commercial value.

For example, "Kwon Heon-hyuk's presence undoubtedly attracted more young viewers to this art film, and his social media buzz proves that his idol appeal is a beneficial supplement to the box office."

Criticism largely points to the high barrier to entry for its art films.

A column in the National Daily stated: "The Decision to Break Up is undoubtedly an 'elite film'."

For some viewers, the narrative pace is slow, the clues are buried too deep, and the abundance of metaphorical symbols leads to 'over-embellishment'.

Sometimes this can create comprehension barriers, making the viewing experience obscure and difficult to understand, thus diminishing some of its entertainment value.

This feedback is reflected in market data, with box office performance showing slightly insufficient staying power.

Regarding its commercial performance, business media and industry commentators noted: "While the Cannes prestige and Park Chan-wook's reputation certainly guarantee the film's base and cultural influence, 'Decision to Leave' is more accurately positioned as an awards machine rather than a box office bomb, which aligns with its art film attributes."

[Michael O'Sullivan, a critic for The Washington Post, commented: Sometimes excessive complexity makes the content almost incomprehensible. This narrative mystery is often not due to the non-linear structure of the story, but rather to a deliberate affectation and over-embellishment during the filmmaking process.]

While such techniques may offer a unique visual or auditory experience, they often lack true depth and meaning, making it difficult for viewers to truly understand and immerse themselves in the experience.

Kwon Heonhyuk's individual fans generally expressed great regret over the fact that he had too few scenes, especially the fact that his character died early.

This is something that fandoms will definitely talk about. Every fandom is bound to favor its own idol, and Kwon Heonhyuk is no exception. You can't just tolerate the fans when they win.

"Why couldn't he have more screen time?!"

"The first half was so brilliant, but then it just faded away. I'm so disappointed!"

"That look in his eyes was amazing! He was reckless, but he also had a sense of responsibility!"

"The light and shadow on his face made him look incredibly sculpted."

"Although the ending was that he was stabbed, the scene where he fell down was super cool."

And naturally, the phenomenon of "Kwon Hyun-hyuk checking in" emerged among fans.

Fans posted photos of their ticket stubs after watching the movie, especially taking pictures in front of theaters decorated with large character posters or standees featuring Kwon Heonhyuk, creating a new fan support culture.

Some die-hard fans even admitted that they would buy tickets multiple times just to relive Kwon Hyun-hyuk's ten-odd minutes of screen time.

Of course, the premiere saw Kwon Yeon-hyuk's fans book out entire theaters, and the trend of fans booking out theaters for support even spread overseas.

Some fan groups from China raised funds overseas to book a movie theater for a whole day's screenings, while others partnered with Korean fan sites to distribute movie tickets to fans.

Fans have a significant influence on the box office performance of newly released movies.

A top-tier celebrity in China can reliably generate over 100 million yuan in revenue for a movie.

The domestic box office market is huge. A movie that has just grossed over 100 million yuan may seem insignificant, but for a movie with a large audience, it will definitely make a profit in the end, which is a strong attraction for capital.

And don't forget the influence of female fans; most of them, upon hearing that a famous celebrity is starring in a movie, will watch it too, influenced by their own fans.

Boys are different; they don't care about this or that, if the quality isn't good, they'll just go away.

This phenomenon of high traffic is difficult to replicate even in South Korea.

South Korea's domestic voter base is only so big, and there are only so many South Koreans. No matter how big Kwon Heonhyuk's fan base is, it won't be that big, and no matter how much money he spends to support him, it won't be that big.

Naturally, South Korean fans can't match the extravagance of their domestic counterparts in terms of spending money and scale.

Therefore, it is actually difficult for movies based on audience demographics to succeed in South Korea; they still have to follow the conventional path.

There aren't many young people in South Korea to begin with, and even fewer who are fans of celebrities.
Public opinion on the film itself reflects varying levels of understanding of the film.

Many people admitted: "To be honest, I don't quite understand the plot... but the visuals are beautiful, and Tang Wei's temperament is amazing." Some viewers are also trying to understand the plot and participating in discussions about the film's metaphors and themes.

Overall, "The Decision to Break Up" generated a huge buzz in its early release thanks to its Cannes Film Festival prestige and star-studded cast.

While achieving great success in the arts, it hasn't been as successful in terms of box office revenue and market performance.

However, it was originally an art film aiming for awards, so no one had high expectations for its box office performance.

"Want to go see a movie tonight? 'The Decision to Break Up'." Jennie turned her phone screen towards everyone, showing the movie theater's ticketing page.

It's not that they're being pretentious, but rather that the movie "The Decision to Break Up" has been incredibly popular lately and is very appealing.

Compared to Hollywood blockbusters like Top Gun, these more sophisticated romance films are more appealing to them at this time, especially since they are directed by the renowned Park Chan-wook and starred Tang Wei!

"Okay, let's go see it together! Tang Wei, Kwon Hyun-hyuk is in it too, right?"

Park Chae-young chimed in at this moment, showing that she was quite interested as well.

Upon hearing this, Kim Jisoo had the same idea and planned to watch the movie whenever she had time after its release. Since that was the case, why not go together?

Instead of running away, face it head-on and see what that guy looks like in Park Chan-wook's lens.

The cinema was packed with people at night; the theater was almost full for "The Decision to Break Up," a recent hot film.

Jisoo and the other members entered discreetly wearing hats and masks, and found seats at the back.

Soon, that familiar figure appeared on the screen.

It's an indoor shooting range. Park Hae-il's character, Hae-joon, enters the frame first, but the moment the camera pans sharply to frame Oh Soo-wan (Kwon Hyun-hyuk), who is wearing a blue police undershirt and tactical vest and goggles, the moment it enters the frame.

"Oh." Lisa let out a soft, slightly teasing exclamation, and nudged Jisoo next to her with her elbow.

The screen light shone on Kim Ji-soo's face.

In the picture, Quan Xuanhe is tall and aloof. The uniform fits his broad shoulders and strong physique perfectly. His eyes are focused on the bullseye in front of him, and his brows are habitually furrowed.

The big screen relentlessly magnifies his sculpted profile and overwhelming masculine energy, creating a "uniform impact" that photos and videos cannot fully convey.

He's quite handsome.
The group of people remained quiet and focused on watching the movie.

This movie requires you to calm down and watch it carefully. It's not a popcorn blockbuster. Those seeking sensory stimulation may find it boring.

Kwon Heon-hyuk's scenes are only in the first half of the movie, and it's hard for anyone to deny that he was indeed very eye-catching when he appeared, somewhat like Tang Wei, a green leaf among a sea of ​​flowers.

But with so few scenes, it's not enough for the supporting character to steal the show.

As the credits rolled and the lights came on, the members whispered about the film's suspenseful atmosphere, Tang Wei's acting skills, and the director's expertise. They also commented that "Kwon Heonhyuk's role, though small, was quite memorable."

She quickly caught up with her laughing and joking teammates and joined the dispersing crowd.

The light and shadow on the screen temporarily disappeared, but Kwon Heon-hyuk's acting skills truly impressed Kim Ji-soo.

This guy is really charismatic on the big screen; he's already at this level.
The movie theater was brightly lit at night, and the air was filled with the sweet smell of popcorn and the noise of people.

The poster for "The Decision to Break Up" prominently features Tang Wei's expressive face, while Park Hae-il and Kwon Heon-hyuk are also featured in the corner.

Sana Minatozaki, Tzuyu Chou, and Jihyo Park wore hats and masks, and discreetly queued up, picked up their tickets, and bought snacks, blending into the crowd waiting to enter.

"There are so many people," Park Jihyo remarked softly, pulling down her hat brim.

"It's a newly released film, so there are a lot of people, right?" Minatozaki Sana nodded, her eyes quickly scanning the surroundings.

Chou Tzu-yu held a medium-sized bucket of popcorn, her eyes fixed on the ticket gate.

The theater lights dimmed, and the screen lit up.

The film has a cool and restrained tone, and shortly after the opening, the camera cuts to the indoor shooting range of the police station.

On screen, the first thing that appears is a close-up of Park Hae-il, who plays detective Hae-joon, focusing on adjusting his pistol.

The light was cool, highlighting his serious profile.

Immediately afterwards, the camera smoothly and cleanly panned to the right.

A pair of hands with distinct knuckles appear in the frame, loading a magazine into a firearm. A black police training vest covers the taut lines of muscle.

The dark blue police undershirt had a neat collar, and the goggles covered half of his face, but they only accentuated the sharp lines of his jaw and his thin, unsmiling lips.

At this moment, the camera finally zoomed in on him as he raised his hand and deftly removed his goggles.

The screen light illuminated his face.

A few soft gasps or exclamations rang out in the theater—instinctive reactions stemming purely from the visual impact, unrelated to the plot.

Sana Minatozaki was also slightly taken aback.

Even though I've witnessed his stunning performance as another character on the set of "Night Owl," the big screen is the big screen; the experience of watching a movie in a theater is completely different from watching a film in other settings.

The impact of magnifying a face several times in front of the camera and finally displaying it on the big screen is completely different.

Chou Tzu-yu was completely absorbed in watching.

The light from the screen flowed across her face, illuminating her eyes.

As the film progresses, the mystery of the case and the enigmatic aura of Rui Lai, played by Tang Wei, become the focus.

But when Kwon So-hyuk reappears on screen, his nimble skills while carrying out missions and his probing, cold gaze when he accidentally brushes past the female lead will attract the audience's attention.

The film captivated audiences, but its pacing and metaphors were not straightforward or easy to understand. Some viewers were left confused, while others found it endlessly fascinating.

But neither of them provides the immersive and exhilarating feeling you get after watching a commercial film.

As the lights came on to signal the end of the event, the crowd began to get up and leave.

"Wow..." Park Jihyo was the first to exclaim, rubbing her neck.

"The director's shooting style is very unique, and Tang Wei's eyes can speak volumes."

“Mm,” Minatozaki Sana replied.

"The camera work is amazing; the empty shots of mountains and seas are like lines being spoken."

"Director Park Chan-wook has so many metaphors, like that scene of waves repeatedly crashing against the shore..." Sana Minatozaki analyzed as she walked.

Although she only has a junior high school education, she still knows a bit about art!

Park Ji-hyo nodded: "Yes, Tang Wei's aloof yet charming temperament is simply tailor-made for me."

The discussion quickly moved past the details and returned to footsteps and whispers.

In another cinema in Seoul, in the bustling exit corridor.

The four members of aespa were swept along by the crowd, the air still carrying the chill of the air conditioning in the screening room.

I have just emerged from the story of "The Decision to Break Up," which is full of obscure metaphors and emotional turmoil.

Jin Dongtian deliberately lagged behind by half a step, her gaze falling on Liu Zhimin walking ahead. Liu Zhimin had her head down, her hat brim pulled low, obscuring her expression, but the phone she was clutching in her hand still had its screen faintly lit.

Giselle rubbed her eyes and broke the silence first.

"The cinematography is truly amazing... Every frame seems to tell a story. Especially Tang Wei, that sense of alienation and fragmentation..."

Ning Yizhuo nodded.

As a Chinese person, she is certainly more familiar with Tang Wei than others.

Liu Zhimin didn't immediately join the discussion. Her fingertips swiped rapidly across the phone screen, as if she were looking back at something.

She didn't ask specifically what she saw, but her gaze swept intently over her three teammates, especially lingering on Kim Dong-won's face for a moment.

"Mo?" Ning Yizhuo was puzzled.

"Xuanhe," Liu Zhimin muttered to herself, seemingly quite excited.

Wow...this is completely different from what I usually see, isn't it?

Her tone made Jin Dongtian's lips twitch almost imperceptibly, and he looked away.

“You…” Gisele then noticed that Liu Zhimin’s phone screen displayed a somewhat blurry but clearly recognizable photo.

The scene is a close-up of Oh Soo-wan, played by Kwon Hyun-hyuk, as he makes his first appearance at the shooting range, holding his gun horizontally against a dark background in the screening room.

"You took photos?"

"Yeah, I just snapped a picture."

Liu Zhimin didn't refute it, but nodded and said.

Ning Yizhuo and Gisele exchanged a glance, feeling both amused and exasperated.

This reason is so typical of Yoo Ji-min; it's blatant favoritism.

Of course they saw that Kwon Hyun-hyuk was handsome and his character's appearance was stunning. Kwon Hyun-hyuk didn't have much of a storyline, so their attention was all on the plot and Tang Wei. How could they have any extra thoughts?

"I took a few more pictures, and they look pretty good," Liu Zhimin said with a smile as she continued flipping through the photo album with great interest.

As she spoke, she quickly selected a few of her favorite photos and hovered her finger over the send button.

The group shook their heads helplessly, especially Jin Dongtian, who looked at Liu Zhimin's excitement and wondered what made her so happy.

"I need to send it to him right away," Liu Zhimin muttered to herself, making sure no one else heard.

"I took the photo from a pretty good angle."

A cold, mocking smile appeared on Jin Dongtian's lips.

Why do you act so worthless?

With a soft click, Liu Zhimin pressed the send button.

The photo, along with a carefully edited message full of emojis, was instantly sent to Kwon Heonhyuk's phone.

During a brief break on set, Kwon Heonhyuk leaned back in a folding chair and closed his eyes to rest.

His phone vibrated in his pocket. He took it out, and Liu Zhimin's name appeared on the screen.

Upon opening the message, several blurry photos of movie theater screens came into view.

It was a close-up of his profile as Wu Xiuwan, who played the role of Wu Xiuwan, firing a gun, that highlighted his cold and sharp features with light and shadow.

The text followed immediately.

Liu Zhimin: [Images][Images][Images]
Yoo Jimin: Daebak, oppa is so handsome (ω)

Liu Zhimin: How was it? Did I do a good job? *^_^*
Looking at the emoticons filling the screen, Kwon Hyun-hyuk could sense Yoo Jimin's cheerful mood.

Imagining her secretly holding up her phone and pointing it at me in the dark theater, that little bit of smugness practically leaps off the page.

He tapped lightly with his fingertips.

"Great shot! (Thumbs up)"

"I'll pay for the movie tickets! But you'll have to pay the fine for piracy yourself."

Messages are replied immediately.

"Hey!!! This is atmosphere! Don't you understand atmosphere?! (￣へ￣)"

(A meme of a rabbit looking wronged)
Quan Xuanhe chatted with her for a few minutes, but he also received many messages from other people.

It wasn't just a few people close to Kwon Heon-hyuk who went to the movie theater to show their support; there were many more.

Zhao Meiyan has been very busy with group activities lately, but in the end, she still managed to squeeze in a late-night movie date with Minnie to go to the cinema.

That night, he had a long phone conversation with Kwon Heonhyuk. They talked and talked until Han Hyojoo, who was next to him, finally got annoyed and hung up the phone.

There was no other way; his time was really tight.

Somi went to the cinema to support him immediately. After watching the movie, she posted on Instagram, showing off her movie ticket and tagging him. Kwon Heonhyuk even replied to the comments.

There are also Go Yoon-jung, Lee Sung-kyung, Han Ji-min, and more recently Kim Yoo-jung, as well as Nancy, Shin Yuna, and so on.

Basically, everyone who knows him went to the cinema to support him as soon as possible, so the support was very impressive.

However, the film's performance was not as strong, and its box office revenue gradually declined.

The opening weekend (June 30 - July 3): the number of moviegoers exceeded 500,000, and the cumulative box office reached the million mark.

The following weekend (July 8-10): Weekend movie attendance remained the same as the previous weekend, with the cumulative audience exceeding one million, maintaining its position in the top three.

During this period, the film gradually attracted audiences interested in art films with its narrative style that intertwined suspense and romance.

To be honest, this assessment is quite fair to the general public. Without so much hype, the movie would have been a complete flop.

Based on this box office trend, the maximum number of viewers will basically be over two million.

This film had far fewer viewers than Park Chan-wook's previous film, "The Handmaiden," which had just over four million viewers.

However, the box office performance of "The Decision to Break Up" was not bad; it was just average.

The break-even point for this film is around 1.3 million, with the sale of overseas rights accounting for a significant portion of the revenue.

It wasn't a box office hit, but it was very popular in terms of publicity and generated a lot of discussion.

Classic award-winning art films naturally don't perform well at the box office.

It was later proven that this movie was purely an awards-contending film, winning all sorts of awards, most notably Tang Wei almost winning the grand slam of Best Actress awards.

Kwon Hyun-hyuk figured he'd be lucky to even get a Best Supporting Actor nomination.

Even if the judges were optimistic about him, a scene that lasted only ten or twenty minutes at most wouldn't warrant an award from them.

The release of the film brought him a new peak in exposure since the broadcast of "Our Blues".

After the hype and release of "The Decision to Break Up," "Our Blues" has now come to its finale.

Two tumultuous months have passed, with two productions released in quick succession. The two projects I had worked on throughout last year are now all gone.

Next up is Kwon Hyun-hyuk's "20th Century Girl," which is currently in post-production and is expected to be released around October.

Oh, and Kwon Heon-hyuk was originally supposed to have a cameo role, but he was inexplicably mentioned as a supporting actor in "The Hunt".

Looking at the specific schedule, "The Hunt" will be released earlier than "20th Century Girl" and will hit theaters in August.

This means he'll have an average of one new project released every two months, making him a true workaholic.

However, there is something more important before all of these things.

That's Baeksang Arts Awards.

(End of this chapter)