Chapter 31: Release
Thursday, 7:00 a.m.
Before the Light Reaches officially opened in theaters.
On one wall of the Bridge Pictures office, reservation data from theaters nationwide was displayed.
The TGV Yongsan screening added the previous day would begin on Friday evening.
That meant the film was opening today in the original twenty-four theaters they had confirmed.
Assistant Manager Min switched through the reservation data by region.
The Saturday GV screening in Gangnam was already sold out.
The Sunday Busan GV had only a few seats left in the front row.
Most weekend afternoon screenings at independent art theaters were also more than half full.
Even the ordinary screenings that had still had many empty seats until the previous day had changed.
After they previewed the first ten minutes of the movie during yesterday's broadcast, seats had begun selling rapidly from the middle sections outward.
Hyunsoo stood in front of the monitor.
"Quite a lot sold overnight."
"The biggest movement came during the first two hours after the broadcast."
Assistant Manager Min displayed a graph showing reservation increases by time.
The line had risen sharply immediately after the preview ended.
Yoon Jihye looked at the graph.
"Director Baek's gamble with the preview worked perfectly. The problem begins now."
Hyunsoo asked,
"Now?"
"The people who watched yesterday's preview need to actually come to the theaters today."
She changed the display.
"And after they watch the movie, weekend reservations need to keep increasing."
A box-office ranking appeared on one side.
Low Ceiling, now entering its third week, was still in first place.
Its cumulative audience had passed two million.
Hyunsoo checked the numbers.
"You said filling the available seats is what matters today, right?"
"Exactly. We need a high seat occupancy rate if we want more weekend screenings."
Geonwoo looked at the same screen.
"What time is the first screening?"
"9:40. Daehangno."
"How are reservations?"
Assistant Manager Min opened the seating chart.
A little more than half the seats were sold.
"Considering it's a weekday morning, that's not bad."
Geonwoo stood.
"I'll go take a look."
Jihye turned toward him.
"You're going to watch the first screening?"
"Yes. I'm curious about the audience response."
Hyunsoo immediately grabbed his bag.
"I'll come too."
Geonwoo looked at his bag.
"Don't you have class today?"
"One in the afternoon."
"What time exactly?"
"One."
If he stayed until the movie ended and watched the audience reactions, getting back to school would be tight.
"Then go straight to school."
"We still have time."
"You're going to skip a major class just because our first movie opened?"
Hyunsoo closed his mouth.
But he still didn't put the bag down.
"Would missing it once really be that bad?"
"It would. Go to class."
"Fine..."
"And don't stare at your phone during class."
"I can't promise that."
Hyunsoo pouted and left the office.
Geonwoo headed for Daehangno soon afterward.
The theater lobby was quiet on a weekday morning.
A poster for Before the Light Reaches hung on one wall.
It was smaller than the posters for the commercial films around it.
The Busan International Film Festival awards were listed beneath the poster.
Geonwoo walked to a self-service ticket kiosk.
He found his movie on the schedule.
[Before the Light Reaches - 09:40]
The number of remaining seats was displayed beside it.
Geonwoo chose a corner seat in the back row.
After receiving the ticket, he entered the theater.
More than twenty audience members were already seated.
A little later, the lights dimmed.
The movie began.
Geonwoo watched the audience more than the screen.
A person in the front row stopped reaching for popcorn.
Someone who had been leaning comfortably against their seat slowly moved forward.
Once the first ten minutes passed, the atmosphere changed.
The viewers had watched the preview footage the previous day.
Until then, they had remained calm as if they already knew what was coming.
But from the next scene onward, tiny reactions began to appear.
It was different from the festival screenings.
The Busan audience had been people who deliberately came to a film festival in search of movies.
Many already knew the director's name or that the film was an award contender.
These people were different.
It was a normal weekday morning screening with no special event.
They had simply purchased a ticket to watch a movie.
They laughed at the moments they were supposed to laugh.
They stopped moving when the tension rose.
As the film entered its final section, the man in the front row uncrossed his legs.
The woman sitting beside him finally put the popcorn tub she had been holding onto the floor.
The final scene ended.
The credits began to roll.
There was no applause.
Instead, when the lights came on, many people didn't immediately get up.
A few pulled out their phones, checked the screen, and then placed them back on their laps.
A couple in the front quietly discussed the movie but still didn't leave their seats.
Geonwoo stood before the others.
He left the theater and waited in one corner of the lobby.
A little later, the doors opened and the audience slowly came out.
Two people who looked like college students passed in front of him.
"When I only saw the first ten minutes, I thought the movie would be about finding the memory card."
"Me too. I thought the important part was figuring out who took it."
"But the fact that everyone knew a little bit was way scarier."
A middle-aged man behind them spoke to his wife.
"I thought a festival award winner would be some difficult art film, but it kept making me curious."
"I liked that it didn't drag even near the end."
"Should we watch it again with the kids this weekend?"
Another audience member stopped in front of the poster.
They took a picture and immediately sent it to someone.
As Geonwoo passed, he briefly saw the message.
[The movie that showed the first ten minutes yesterday. The rest is even better.]
Another person had opened a ticketing app.
"Saturday evening is almost full."
"Then tell them to watch on Sunday."
The ten-minute preview had brought these people into the theater.
But the people who had just finished the movie would be the ones to bring in the next audience.
Geonwoo's phone vibrated.
It was a message from Hyunsoo.
[Hyung. People in my department are talking about our movie.]
A screenshot from a group chat was attached.
[Did anyone see the first ten minutes they released on YouTube yesterday?]
[They cut it right when it got interesting.]
[Anyone want to watch this weekend?]
[Daehangno Saturday at three works for me.]
Geonwoo replied.
[Pay attention to class.]
Hyunsoo answered immediately.
[It's break time...]
Geonwoo was about to put away his phone when someone cautiously spoke beside him.
"Are you Director Baek Geonwoo?"
