SEOUL -- South Korean cinema saw its market share drop to 21.6% for the month of March, further adding to industry gloom over the current state of affairs. 

Korean biz had become used to market share of well over 50% in recent years. But in recent months a string of local movies have failed to connect with auds. Local bizzers have pointed to the reduction in country's protective 'Screen Quotas' system as another factor.

The figures released by leading exhibitor CJ-CGV mark the lowest monthly market share since December 2004, when local cinema took 16.9%. Nonetheless, a strong performance by imports inched overall box office figures for the month up 0.1% over March 2006.

Aside from smash hit "300", which has taken $18.5 million to date, other popular imports include "Music & Lyrics" ($7.7 million to date), "Perfume: The Story of a Murderer" ($6.1 million), and "The Illusionist" ($3.9 million).

Meanwhile for the first week of April, high profile local pic "The Show Must Go On" starring Song Kang-ho ("The Host") opened at #1, but failed to live up to distributor Lotte Entertainment's high expectations. In its first four days the critically-praised film has grossed $3.3 million.

Local comedy "Small Town Rivals", released by CJ Entertainment, opened at a similar level on March 29 and has taken $6.5 million to date.

According to the Korean Film Council (KOFIC), overall market share for 2007 to date is 55.3% for Korean pics and 34.8% for Hollywood.

© Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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