SEOUL, The number of moviegoers fell to around 6.6 million in September, less than half of pre-pandemic levels, data showed Tuesday.

The Korean Film Council (KOFIC) attributed the fall in admissions to the long, extended Chuseok holiday and the poor performance of Korean films currently on show.

The total number of admissions was 6.66 million, 45.1 percent of the average September tally of 14.74 million from 2017 to 2019.

Sales came to 65.3 billion won, or US$48.25 million, 52.9 percent of 123.3 billion won, the September average of the same period.

Three major Korean movies, "Dr. Cheon and Lost Talisman," "Road to Boston" and "Cobweb," hit local cinema simultaneously on Sept. 27, one day before the start of a six-day holiday, but none of them became a box office hit.

The KOFIC also blamed the wider variety of films available on over-the-top platforms for the poor box office results.

Source: Yonhap News Agency