3040 Memories, On Screen...Korean Annie's New History Exterminates to Global Market
Mar 08, 2025
|
|
According to the integrated computer network of movie theater admission tickets on the 8th, 'Excuse Rock' has steadily maintained its third place since it started as the second place at the box office on the 21st of last month, the first day of its release, surpassing 338,301 cumulative audiences. This is drawing more attention because it was achieved in competition with Hollywood blockbusters such as 'Captain America: Brave New World'. In particular, 'Excuse Rock' is considered a rare case of targeting adult audiences in the domestic animation market. In a reality where most of them are produced with children's animations, despite low-budget production, they are captivating audiences with 3D graphics, sensuous design, and dynamic action production comparable to overseas animations. Therefore, it is also being screened in Screen X format, which was considered the exclusive property of blockbuster movies.
The audience's response is also hot. CGV's Golden Egg Index recorded 96%, exceeding director Bong Joon-ho's 'Mickey 17' (91%), and it is sold to 12 countries, including North America, South America, Germany, and Taiwan, and is also attracting attention in overseas markets.
At the center of the box office hit is the audience in their 30s and 40s who read the original novel enthusiastically. According to the analysis of CGV reservation audiences, 65% of them are in their 30s and 40s, and 17% of audiences are in their 50s. This is a similar trend to the long-term success of the Japanese animation 'The First Slam Dunk' released in 2023, stimulating the nostalgia of the 30s and 40s.
Thanks to this heat, the e-book service Millie's study has re-examined that the original novel ranked first in the week of fiction, and videos analyzing the setting and worldview of the original novel have high views on YouTube. In response, TVing announced that it will release an occult action adventure entertainment under the concept of 'Excuse Rock' (tentative title) in 2026.
The animation of the representative work of the first-generation Korean genre novel 'Excuse Rock' was first planned at Locus Studio in 2019. The project, which started with the idea of Kwak Jin-young, head of the Rockers, who wanted to create works that could stimulate nostalgia for the 30s and 40s, began in earnest with the active support of Hwang Soo-jin, vice president. The production process was not smooth. Aiming at a different level of perfection from the previously disappointed movies and games of the same name, 680 people have been working on the production for six years from 2019. Animation production began in earnest in January 2022, and the original author Lee Woo-hyuk, who saw the work completed in May 2023, acknowledged the completeness of the work, evaluating it as "more satisfactory than expected".
'Excuse Lock' is a 3D animation, but unlike ordinary 3D works, it is characterized by reducing the number of frames to enhance 2D sensitivity. Hong Seong-ho, CEO of Locus, said "Choice to maximize 2D-feeling character design while lowering the repulsion of 3D animation." In addition, Locus's own animation production technology, such as 'LORA', which can be produced by checking videos in real time using Unreal Engine, and 'LAS', which tracks production files in real time, has been applied and improved.
Originally intended to be produced as an OTT four-part series, 'Excuse Rock' has been rerouted as a feature-length animation for theatrical release. As a result, some scenes of the original work were omitted, and in particular, the story of the character Lee Hyun-am was edited. The production team raised expectations for a follow-up by saying it plans to "release additional stories through undisclosed cuts."
The success of 'Excuse Lock' presents new possibilities for the domestic animation market. In addition to 'Exodus Rock', Rockers is working on a project to animate popular webtoons and novels such as 'Yumi's Cells', 'Electronic Entertainment Guard', 'Tiger Brother', and 'Denma', and holds the rights to the animation of the author Lee Young-do's 'Dragon Raja'.
CEO Hong Seong-ho expressed his ambition, saying, `We plan to continue communicating and coordinate the direction of animation production by reflecting the needs of the audience.' `Ultimately, we will expand the position of Korean animation in the global animation market.'
The legend of Korean genre fiction 'Excuse Rock' has been reborn as an animation and is creating another myth. It is expected to be an important test to determine the future of the domestic animation market and whether it can continue to follow-up works in the future.
mj.cho@sportschosun.com
