In 2014, domestic films captured over 50 percent of the local movie market for the fourth straight year.

According to local box office data, total movie ticket sales hit a record of 215 million last year, an increase of 0.8 percent from the 213 million tickets sold in 2013, announced the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on December 31.

Out of the 215 million tickets sold last year, 106.89 million of them were for Korean films, as of December 30. Domestic movies' share of the local market has now stayed at over 50 percent for the fourth straight year, although it's lower than the 59.7 percent grabbed in 2013.

Considering that the country's population is just over 50 million, Koreans watched an average of four films per person at movie theaters in 2014.

The Korean film "Roaring Currents" set a box office record last year, helping domestic films maintain their market share. The film, which describes a sea battle led by Admiral Yi Sun-sin in the Myeongryang Straits in the South Sea in 1597, attracted 17.6 million viewers. Most recently, another film about a father's struggle throughout the 1960s and 1970s, "Ode to My Father," brought over 6 million spectators to theaters.

Among international films, both "Frozen" and "Interstellar" lured over 10 million viewers each. Other blockbusters, including "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" and "X-Men: Days of Future Past," were also very popular.

What is peculiar about the local box office last year is that there were many non-mainstream movies. According to the box office data announced by the culture ministry, the number of tickets purchased for non-mainstream films, including indie movies, had been declining since 2009 when such films attracted over 10 million moviegoers. In 2014, however, these films lured 14.91 million viewers.

Among domestic indie films, "Han Gong-ju" and "The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared" both caught a lot of attention. Among international films, "Begin Again" attracted 3.42 million viewers.

Recently, the domestic documentary "My Love, Don't Cross That River" had over 4 million ticket sales as of January, setting a record in the indie Korean film scene.

By Limb Jae-un Korea.net Staff Writer (jun2@korea.kr)