🤔 5 Reasons Why Movie Theater Subscriptions Don’t Exist in Korea From a Former Megabox Crew Member (a.k.a. theater part-timer) 

TL;DR 📝 

1. Korea did try a theater subscription with CGV Plus, but the perks were vague and it flopped. 

2. Unlike Europe, Korean theaters have less power—and complex revenue structures make subscriptions hard. 

3. Add in OTT competition, a lack of new releases, and no legal foundation? It’s just not the right environment. 

🍿Why Can’t Korean Movie Theaters Be Like Netflix? 

Before we dive in, don’t worry if you missed the last article—this one stands on its own.  Last time, we explored how movie theater subscriptions succeeded overseas. Now it’s time to turn the spotlight on Korea. 

A movie theater subscription sounds like a dream, right? Unlimited movies, maybe some free popcorn—perfect for weekend moviegoers. And actually, Korea tried something like this once. Back in 2022, CGV launched a service called CGV Plus. 

But… it came and went so quietly that most people didn’t even notice. So why didn’t it work? Why can’t theaters in Korea survive with a Netflix-style model? Here are the 5 main reasons. 

💳 Reason 1: CGV Plus Was Just... Meh 

CGV Plus cost 15,000 KRW a month and included 1 free movie, popcorn discounts, and a 1-month TVING coupon.  Nice in theory, but it didn’t satisfy anyone.  Heavy moviegoers thought, “That’s it?” and casual ones went, “Not worth the money.”  Paid conversion was low, and the perks just weren’t compelling.  To be fair, CGV probably stretched its benefits as much as possible—but ultimately, it wasn’t what people actually wanted. 

💸 Reason 2: People Chose OTT Over Theater 

Post-COVID, people got used to staying home with Netflix, Disney+, Wavve, and the like.  Meanwhile, theater ticket prices kept going up—by 2024, the average ticket is about 9,700 KRW.  Add popcorn and drinks for a couple of friends, and you're spending 30,000–40,000 KRW easy.  OTT wins the value battle hands down. 

And to make things worse, Korea’s film industry wasn’t really designed for subscription models to begin with. 

🎬 Reason 3: Subscriptions Only Work Where Theaters Hold Power 

📸 Photo: Pathé (France) 

In places like France, where subscriptions thrive, theater chains like UGC and Pathé control the market.  That gives them leverage to launch subscriptions without needing external approval.  In fact, they created systems to track viewer data and distribute revenue based on what subscribers actually watched.  Theaters there call the shots. 

But in Korea, theaters are just one part of a complicated ecosystem.  You’ve got production companies, distributors, investors—all with a stake in each ticket sold.  Theaters here aren’t powerful enough to lead that kind of system. 

🤯 Reason 4: Revenue-Sharing Becomes a Nightmare 

In Korea, when you watch a movie, your ticket money gets split between the theater, distributor, producer, and investors.  With a flat subscription fee, how do you split that up fairly? 

And it gets trickier: each ticket sold triggers a 10% VAT plus a 3% cultural development fund.  But in a subscription model, there's no per-ticket price—so how do you tax it?  Bottom line: Korea’s system just isn’t built to handle subscriptions at a structural level. 

💭 Reason 5: Outdated Laws and No Legal Support 

Korean film laws weren’t written with subscriptions in mind.  Take the holdback rule, for example—it’s supposed to make sure films hit theaters before streaming.  But without clear regulations, some films release on OTT and in theaters at the same time. 

That kills theaters’ competitive edge.  Why would anyone pay more to go to the cinema if they can just stream it comfortably at home? 

💤 And Let’s Be Honest—New Releases Just Don’t Hit Like They Used To 

Ultimately, what pulls people to theaters is exciting new releases.  But after the pandemic, investment in filmmaking dropped, and so did the number of new titles.  It used to be like, “You HAVE to see this in theaters.”  Now, it’s more like, “I’ll catch it when it hits OTT.” 

🎯 In Summary… 

Here’s why subscription models haven’t worked in Korea: 

• The benefits were too weak 

• OTTs offer better value 

• Theater power is limited 

• Revenue-sharing is messy 

• Legal systems aren’t built for it 

And these aren’t issues that can be fixed one at a time—it’s a system-wide roadblock.  Unless a theater brand comes in with major capital and the will to bulldoze through all these problems…  Honestly, it seems more likely that they’d just invest in OTT instead. 

📌 One-Line Takeaway 

Theater subscriptions in Korea sound great—but making them work would take a total industry overhaul.