Yeon Sang-ho's Paradise Lost recoups costs through overseas pre-sales

Director Yeon Sang-ho's low-budget film Paradise Lost has exceeded its 500 million won net production cost through pre-sales to 118 countries. Released on the 21st, the psychological thriller has already reached 104,886 cumulative viewers in domestic theaters as of the 26th.

Director Yeon Sang-ho's low-budget film 'Paradise Lost' has achieved a milestone by exceeding its net production costs through the pre-sale of overseas rights, and it is now meeting audiences in domestic theaters. Released on the 21st, the film ranked first at the box office among films released during the same period, and as of the 26th, the cumulative audience reached 104,886 people according to the integrated computer network for film ticket sales. With a net production cost in the 500 million won range, 'Paradise Lost' was completed in approximately 14 filming sessions. The film was invited to the Toronto International Film Festival, Busan International Film Festival, and Hawaiʻi International Film Festival, and was pre-sold to 118 countries worldwide before its release. Following Yeon's previous low-budget project 'The Ugly', which invested approximately 200 million won in net production costs and drew about 1.08 million viewers last year, this second low-budget project has also succeeded in recouping its production costs. Along with the success of Yeon's large-scale production 'Colony', attention is being focused on the production process of 'Paradise Lost' and its audience trends following its release.

A work with 14 filming sessions and a net production cost in the 500 million won range

'Paradise Lost' is a psychological thriller about Ryu So-young, who lost her son in a camping school bus disappearance nine years ago, and Ryu Seon-woo, her son who was thought to be dead, as they meet again. Kim Hyun-joo plays the mother, Ryu So-young, and Bae Hyun-sung plays the son, Ryu Seon-woo. After losing her son, So-young endures her sense of loss by using an AI augmented reality program called 'Children of Paradise' to restore her son's image from his childhood. During this time, she encounters Seon-woo, who has returned alive. The son So-young remembers from her childhood is different from the son appearing before her eyes, and the film centers on the experiences So-young undergoes between these two existences. The film is rated for viewers aged 15 and older and has a running time of 100 minutes.

The film was produced in about 14 filming sessions with a net production cost in the 500 million won range. At a press preview held on October 12, Director Yeon introduced the process of Shin Hyun-been's participation in the narration and the appearance of Koo Kyo-hwan. Shin Hyun-been took on the narration role after receiving a proposal from Director Yeon when she arrived for the post-recording of 'Colony'. Koo Kyo-hwan, who appeared in 'The Ugly', also appeared in 'Paradise Lost', participating as an extra while bringing his own costume. Director Yeon stated, "Rather than making 'Paradise Lost' for commercial purposes, it was made like a club activity among close people, so there was that kind of help. I cannot always make them like that, but I have a desire to do it once a year like a club activity, though I am not sure if it will be possible."

Director Yeon revealed that he plans to limit the filming sessions for low-budget films to a maximum of 14. In an interview on October 14, he explained that since costs increase as the number of sessions increases, he limits the amount of footage and either removes or combines scenes that cannot be resolved within 14 sessions. He adjusts locations and scenes, such as changing a conversation in a coffee shop to a conversation at home. Regarding why the budget for 'Paradise Lost' increased compared to 'The Ugly', he said that because the post-settlement based on shares was not sophisticated in his first work, he paid more money in the form of a bonus, and for the second work, he planned things more clearly from the beginning, such as the share ratio. The process of managing production costs and filming periods and pre-determining the settlement method for participants was introduced as part of the production process.

Overseas rights sales provide the basis for recouping production costs

'Paradise Lost' was invited to the Toronto International Film Festival, Busan International Film Festival, and Hawaiʻi International Film Festival before its release. It was also pre-sold to 118 countries worldwide, and according to the source, the achievement of exceeding the net production costs was made through overseas sales revenue alone. This means the basis for recouping production costs was established through overseas rights sales even before the domestic audience increased after the release. In its opening weekend, it ranked first at the box office among films released at the same time, and as of the 26th, the cumulative audience was recorded at 104,886 people. Overseas sales and domestic theater performance were presented as different revenue paths. It is also a confirmed fact in the production and distribution process of 'Paradise Lost' that a work with a net production cost in the 500 million won range was sold to 118 countries.

This is the second of Director Yeon's low-budget projects following 'The Ugly', which was released last year. The net production cost of 'The Ugly' was approximately 200 million won, and it mobilized approximately 1.08 million domestic viewers. According to the reference article, this work was completed with about 20 staff members and 13 filming sessions, and the theater revenue was approximately 11 billion won. Lead actor Park Jung Min participated without a guarantee, and a method was applied where the profits were shared among participants, including the staff, according to their shares. The source reported that 'The Ugly' involved the cooperation of Director Yeon's connections and the determination of the actors and staff. Unlike 'The Ugly', which sought to recoup production costs through domestic audience success, 'Paradise Lost' differs in that the overseas rights pre-sale revenue exceeded the production costs before its release.

It is not only Yeon's low-budget works that have achieved box office success. According to the source, 'Colony', released in the first half of this year, had a net production cost of approximately 17 billion won, and the break-even point was lowered to approximately 3 million viewers due to overseas pre-sales. It exceeded 3 million viewers within 10 days of its release, and the final cumulative audience was 5,953,825 people. 'The Ugly' and 'Paradise Lost' were produced with low production costs, while 'Colony' is a work into which large-scale production costs were invested. The source reported that Director Yeon has achieved results in recouping production costs in each work as he has continued his film activities from last year through the second half of this year.

A story between an AI program and a returned son

The starting point of ‘Paradise Lost’ was a three-page short story written by Director Yeon's mother. He stated that he wanted to follow the psychology of why his mother wrote that story and why she showed it to her son. This interest in motherhood was connected to questions regarding human identity in the age of artificial intelligence in the film. Director Yeon said, “AI is the sum of universal collective intelligence, so it completes logic in just one second. Humans can never win against logic.”

The ‘Children of Paradise’ in the film is a program that uses AI and augmented reality to recreate Ryu So-young's young son. Through this program, Ryu So-young meets her son whom she lost 9 years ago, while simultaneously facing Ryu Seon-woo, who has returned alive. According to the film introduction released before its release, Ryu Seon-woo has changed from the childhood image Ryu So-young remembers. The work deals with the psychological situation Ryu So-young experiences between the son created by AI and the real son. While using AI as a subject, the film places elements of motherhood, identity, and the gap between memory and reality into the story. Director Yeon stated that he took the title and thematic background from John Milton's epic poem ‘Paradise Lost’. He explained that it contains the paradox that while one dreams of a utopia through AI, it can turn into a dystopia when facing reality.

Director Yeon's principles regarding low-budget production were also revealed. He said he established a principle of not receiving film production support and not applying for the independent film recognition system to be recognized for mandatory screening days during dedicated theater screenings. He explained that he believed a person who makes commercial films should not make low-budget films in a way that harms the structure and ecosystem of the independent film industry. ‘The Ugly’ and ‘Paradise Lost’ were introduced as low-budget projects that Director Yeon worked on with close colleagues, and Director Yeon cited the planning of clearer settlements and equity shares as the background for the production costs of ‘Paradise Lost’ increasing to 500 million won. Along with this, he stated that he manages production costs by designing filming not to exceed 14 sessions and by reducing or merging scenes if the footage does not match the required length.

The project following ‘The Ugly’, continuing domestic screenings

‘Paradise Lost’ is the project following ‘The Ugly’ among Director Yeon's low-budget projects. ‘The Ugly’ was made with a net production cost of approximately 200 million won and gathered about 1.08 million viewers in Korea, while ‘Paradise Lost’ was produced with a net production cost in the 500 million won range and achieved the result of exceeding production costs through overseas sales revenue alone. While both works share the commonality of being films with reduced filming scale and production costs, their known recovery paths in the process of meeting audiences are different. ‘The Ugly’ gathered audiences through domestic theatrical success, whereas for ‘Paradise Lost’, the sale of overseas rights exceeded the production costs before its release. Regarding this work, Director Yeon said, “Like ‘The Ugly’, ‘Paradise Lost’ is also a film made like a club activity among close people without industrial purposes.”

‘Paradise Lost’ is continuing its meetings with domestic audiences after its release. After ranking first at the box office among films released at the same time during its opening weekend, it recorded a cumulative audience of 104,886 people as of the 26th. Director Yeon Sang-ho and Kim Hyun-joo are scheduled to hold stage greetings at major theaters in Seoul on the 31st. Following pre-sales to 118 countries and invitations to international film festivals, the film continues its theatrical screenings in Korea. The original text reported that while it achieved the result of exceeding production costs through overseas sales revenue, its theatrical performance is also continuing after its release.

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