Bong Joon-ho's 'Mickey17' to Stream on Amazon Prime After Lackluster Box Office Performance
Director Bong Joon-ho's latest film, 'Mickey17', will be available on digital platforms like Amazon Prime starting April 7, just a month after its North American release. Despite high expectations following his Academy Award-winning film 'Parasite' (기생충) in 2019, 'Mickey17' is projected to incur losses of around $80 million due to disappointing box office results.
Released on March 7 in North America, 'Mickey17' has struggled to meet its break-even point of $300 million, with global earnings reported at approximately $122.37 million as of April 5, according to Box Office Mojo. Entertainment industry publication Variety estimates the film's losses to be between $75 million and $80 million.
In South Korea, the film's performance has also fallen short of expectations, with ticket sales failing to surpass 3 million viewers by the 36th day of its release. This is notably lower than the recent hit 'Firefighter' (소방관), which crossed the 3 million mark within 24 days despite facing its own controversies. While 'Firefighter' had a seat occupancy rate of around 20%, 'Mickey17' boasted nearly 60%, leading to further disappointment among industry insiders. One multiplex representative remarked, "We did not anticipate such poor performance."
'Mickey17' is expected to surpass 3 million viewers by its 37th day in theaters. Film market analyst Kim Hyung-ho noted that the film failed to attract its target audience of fans over 40 who enjoyed Bong's previous works. He attributed the lack of effective marketing by distributor Warner Bros. and the relatively low domestic recognition of lead actor Robert Pattinson as contributing factors to its underwhelming performance.
