When Yeon Sang-ho wrote “Train to Busan,” zombie movies were simply unknown to South Korean audiences. Skeptical of the sub-genre’s commercial appeal, the director accompanied his producers to Next Entertainment World to promote it as “a story of the survival of those infected with a human virus in some way.”
“While filming it, I had ideas of other stories in this world, in the post-apocalypse, but I didn’t think I had another opportunity to make such a specific genre film, especially not on this scale,” he said. declared Yeon Variety.
To Yeon’s surprise, “Train to Busan” was both a critical and commercial success. It grossed $ 98.5 million, including $ 2.1 million in the United States and Canada, and became one of the first Korean films picked up by VOD and streaming services including Netflix and Shudder. In South Korea, more than 11 million people watched the film in theaters.
The long-awaited sequel, “Peninsula”, will be released in US theaters on Friday, after two firsts postponed due to uncertainties in the broadcast schedule, caused by epidemics of the coronavirus. Written and directed by Yeon, the survival story takes place four years after the zombie apocalypse recounted in the 2016 film. It stars Gang Dong-won, Lee Jung-Hyun, Lee Re, Kwon Hae-hyo and Min -Jae Kim.
Yeon says the film’s Korea release date was simply affected by the pandemic. Finishing production last October, his team had planned a world premiere anyway in July, exactly four years after the release of “Train”. “We ignored European and North American countries that were having worse epidemics, but even in Asian countries that are slowly recovering, we felt that their movie market, their theaters needed new movies to come out now,” a- he explained.
“Peninsula” did solid business in the overseas territories, grossing over $ 50 million before hitting US theaters. Released in Canada on August 7, the film grossed more than $ 273,000 in 48 theaters. In Taiwan, the sequel has raised over $ 11.9 million to date, while in Malaysia it has topped the box office to reach $ 2.30 million. . It also became the first Korean opening film of all time in Singapore, breaking Yeon’s record for “Train” and currently stands at $ 2.03 million.
The cartoonist turned director tells the international success of “Peninsula” to the notoriety of his predecessor and the lack of new Hollywood titles. He believes returning audiences weren’t just drawn to his active, fast-paced zombies, but the “emotional thread, looking at parenthood and community morale in the post-apocalypse.”
Gang, who plays Jung Seok, a survivor of the previous wreckage of the “Train” returning to South Korea to retrieve treasure, points to the car chase scene made up of CGI graphics. The sequence was shot in front of the green screen, and the zombies, edited afterwards. “It’s crazy how real and good everything looks, and Yeon’s edits, along with his background in animation, made it even more surreal – and I don’t think audiences have seen anything like that,” did he declare.
Instead of the usual red carpet premieres, promotion of the sequel consisted of phone interviews and local theater tours, a common event among Korean theaters inviting cast and crew from a film to showcase their work. in person. Due to South Korea’s mandatory two-week quarantine at the start of the school year, the team has canceled press conferences and overseas screenings, even in places like Taiwan that appear to have the virus under control. .
The award-winning Korean actor is particularly fascinated by the film’s success in Southeast Asia, especially given the impact of the pandemic on the Korean box office. Regarding the local performance of “Peninsula”, he said: “Our film came first. [in the box office] for three consecutive weeks, but we reached just over three million spectators. We’re looking at a full-scale blockbuster with a sequel, so I guess I would have been closer to the ten million audience by now, for any other summer.
Hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic, the Korean film industry, which celebrated its centenary with the Oscar victory in Bong Joon-ho’s story, continues to be in unprecedented turmoil. With mainstream films returning to theaters since June, Yeon hopes to open new doors for other Korean filmmakers.
“Outside of film festivals, Korean films are still rarely appreciated by foreign audiences. Even with “Peninsula,” we had to contact the distributors who chose “Train to Busan,” ”Yeon said. “The Korean film market is limited, so hopefully ‘Peninsula’ will pave the way for showing our work in local theaters abroad, in the way that ‘Parasite’ has changed Americans’ perception of films. foreigners. “
Looking to the future, the filmmaker also confirms the possibility of another entry into the “Train” franchise. “Given the occasion, I have a few storylines that take place after ‘Peninsula’, but I wonder if (they are) best suited for a TV series, movie or animated series,” he said. he declares. “Whether I run it or not is another question.”
But ahead of his next project, Yeon is curious to see how “Peninsula” performs at the US box office, especially during a pandemic. “So I heard Americans know Netflix’s ‘Train to Busan’, but I can’t understand its popularity because I mostly stayed in Korea,” he said. “Peninsula” is another Korean movie, but it’s an action movie – and whatever the race of the language, I think there is something for everyone. ”
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