Horror films released in spring rather than the traditional summer peak season are drawing consecutive hits, rewriting the box office formula for K-horror. Industry observers say the genre is building its presence through everyday subject matter, shamanism, and unconventional directing.
According to Netflix on Tuesday, the original series "Kirigo," released on April 24, ranked No. 1 globally in the non-English show category from April 27 to May 3. The show also recorded 7.5 million views — calculated by dividing total viewing time by the title's runtime — and topped charts in 24 countries. It depicts the desperate struggle of five high school students trying to escape a curse tied to "Kirigo," an app that grants wishes. The film "Salmokji" drew a cumulative 2.83 million viewers, making it the second highest-grossing Korean horror film of all time. Attention is focused on whether it will surpass the 3.14 million viewers of the top-ranked "A Tale of Two Sisters." The film portrays events that unfold when employees of a road-view service enter the Salmokji reservoir to film streets.
The success of both titles is attributed to the fusion of cutting-edge technology such as road maps and apps with Korean-style horror, experiential consumption, and maximized tension through casting focused on rising actors. "Kirigo" combines the everyday subject of a wish-granting smartphone app with Korean occult elements such as shamans and shamanism, while "Salmokji" is credited with heightening realism by using the road-view service and actual urban legends. Complex psychology, including betrayal among colleagues facing extreme situations, has worked as a thriller element, and analysts point to consumption that has expanded beyond mere viewing into participation as a driver of the box office success. "Kirigo" led to actual app downloads, while "Salmokji" expanded into experiential content, including visits to filming locations and social media verification posts.
Meanwhile, director Yeon Sang-ho's zombie thriller "Gunche" has been pre-sold to 124 countries ahead of its world premiere screening at the Cannes Film Festival, drawing attention to whether it will continue the K-horror winning streak. The film depicts survivors isolated inside a building sealed off due to an unidentified infection outbreak as they confront infected beings that evolve in unpredictable forms. It opens May 21.
