The Princess and the Matchmaker

The Princess and the Matchmaker is a 2018 South Korean period romantic comedy-drama film directed by Hong Chang-pyo.[2][3][4] The film stars Shim Eun-kyung, Lee Seung-gi, Kim Sang-kyung, Yeon Woo-jin, Kang Min-hyuk, Choi Woo-shik and Jo Bok-rae.[5] The film tells story of a saju[6] expert, Seo Do-yoon, who received an order from the King to help him pick a husband for his daughter, Princess Song-hwa, based on their fortune.[2][7] It is the second installment of Jupiter Film's three-part film project on the Korean fortune-telling traditions, following The Face Reader which was released in 2013 and followed by Feng Shui later in 2018.[8]

The Princess and the Matchmaker
Theatrical release poster
Hangul
Hanja
Literal meaningMarital Compatibility
Revised RomanizationGung-hap
Directed byHong Chang-pyo
Written byLee So-mi
StarringShim Eun-kyung
Lee Seung-gi
Kim Sang-kyung
Yeon Woo-jin
Kang Min-hyuk
Choi Woo-shik
Jo Bok-rae
CinematographyLee Hyung-deok
Edited byNam Na-yeong
Kim Hyeong-joo
Music byKim Dong-gi
Production
company
Jupiter Film
Distributed byCJ Entertainment
Release date
  • February 28, 2018 (2018-02-28)
Running time
110 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean
Box officeUS$9.9 million[1]

Plot

edit

Princess Songhwa of the Joseon era refuses her fate to marry one of four suitors deemed to have good marital compatibility with her. She then escapes from the palace to find the man she truly loves.

Cast

edit

Main

edit
The fortune-teller
First candidate for Princess Song-hwa's husband. He is an ambitious man of ability.
Second candidate for Princess Song-hwa's husband who is a gifted man with good looks.
Third candidate for Princess Song-hwa's husband, a warm and a polite man known for his filial piety.

Supporting

edit

Special appearance

edit

Production

edit

Principal photography began on September 9, 2015 and wrapped on December 23, 2015.[9]

Release

edit

On January 31, 2018, a promotional press conference was held with the main cast and the director at the event.[10] The main trailer for the film was unveiled on February 9, 2018.[11] The Princess and the Matchmaker was released in the local cinemas on February 28, 2018.[12]

Reception

edit

According to Korean Film Council, The Princess and the Matchmaker topped the local box office on the first day of its release and attracted 175,022 audiences.[13][14]

During the first weekend since the film was released at 965 screens, The Princess and the Matchmaker drew 489,702 moviegoers accounting for 29.1 percent of the weekend's ticket sales.[15][16]

The film maintained the number one spot for six consecutive days since its release and surpassed one million viewers on its seventh day.[17]

During the second weekend the film was viewed by 157,084 audiences and fell to fourth place at the Korean box office.[18][19]

References

edit
  1. ^ "The Princess and the Matchmaker (2018)". Korean Film Biz Zone.
  2. ^ a b "Director says 'The Princess and the Matchmaker' is exhilarating period comedy drama". Yonhap News Agency.
  3. ^ "궁합".
  4. ^ "Daum영화 <궁합>".
  5. ^ "영화 [궁합] 상세정보".
  6. ^ Korean version of Four Pillars of Destiny or commonly known as Matchmaking
  7. ^ "Saju". KoreanLII.
  8. ^ "Actor Lee Seung-gi talks about 'The Princess and the Matchmaker'". Yonhap News Agency. 2018-02-01. Retrieved 2018-03-06.
  9. ^ "KoBiz (Korean Film Biz Zone)". www.kobiz.or.kr.
  10. ^ "Actor Lee Seung-gi talks about 'The Princess and the Matchmaker'". Yonhap News Agency. February 1, 2018.
  11. ^ "Trailer unveiled for 'The Princess and the Matchmaker'". Yonhap News Agency. February 9, 2018.
  12. ^ Shim, Sun-ah (January 31, 2018). "Director says 'The Princess and the Matchmaker' is exhilarating period comedy drama". Yonhap News Agency.
  13. ^ "Lee Seung-gi's "The Princess and the Matchmaker" Tops the Box Office". HanCinema.
  14. ^ Kim Bo-ra (March 2018). "[美친box] '궁합'·'리틀', 韓영화 나란히 1·2위..'블랙팬서' 3위". OSEN (in Korean).
  15. ^ Shim Sun-ah (March 5, 2018). "Two Korean films dominate box office". Yonhap News Agency.
  16. ^ Jin Min-ji (March 5, 2018). "After weeks of action, audiences flock to comedy". Korea JoongAng Daily.
  17. ^ Kim Young-rak (March 6, 2018). "이승기X심은경 '궁합' 100만 관객 돌파…6일연속 박스오피스 1위". News Nate (in Korean). Sports Korea.
  18. ^ Shim Sun-ah (March 12, 2018). "Domestic thriller beats 'Tomb Raider' reboot at S. Korean box office". Yonhap News Agency.
  19. ^ Jin Min-ji (March 13, 2018). "Thriller 'The Vanished' beats 'Tomb Raider' reboot". Korea JoongAng Daily.
edit