Which country makes the best films and streaming series? From Yahoo!Finance, as Netflix is the leading global provider, let me start there, quoting Google AI:South Korea is considered to have one of the best Netflix catalogs, with 109 Oscar-winning films and 35 Emmy-winning shows. This is more than any other country, with 24 more Academy Award winners than Switzerland, the next highest.
As of July 2024, Slovakia has the largest Netflix media library in the world, with over 8,500 titles. The top 10 countries with the largest libraries are mostly European.
Here are some other streaming services and what they're best for:
- Hulu: Best for movie variety
- Peacock: Best for affordable TV and movie streaming
- Tubi: Best for free movies
- Amazon Prime Video: Best for popular movies
- Disney+: Best for family-friendly movies
- Max: Best for WarnerMedia movies
- KweliTV: Best for international films
Other bullets from this article:
- Global box office revenue slumped to $11.8 billion in 2020, before rebounding to $21.3 billion last year. Despite that 80% rise, ticket sales in 2021 were still just half what they were in 2019 before the pandemic hit.
- When it comes to movie producing countries, the United States has been far and away the global leader for decades. According to data compiled by The Numbers, the U.S. has produced nearly 23,000 movies that have earned over $609 billion at the box office. That’s 5x more movies produced and 11x the revenue generated than any other country.
- The top countries are the largest: China, India and USA, with some mention of Japan.
One of my problems is that I don't recall seeing any recent great films from China and India.
- Here is the 21st century top ten from China? Seen any of them?
- Or in the all-time 50 highest grossing films in China.
- Never heard of the top seven, all made in China.
- #8 is Avengers: Endgame from the USA.
- Then the next 15 are made inn China, also unknown to me.
- Similarly, the all-time 50 highest grossing films in India were all produced in India, and those movie titles are unknown to me.
Most of you reading this blog know enough about U.S. films, so today I will only compare the films of South Korea with that of Japan. The pandemic changed the viewing habits of people throughout the world. For example, take me....the only films I have seen in a movie theater since the beginning of the COVID Pandemic are Barbie and Oppenheimer. This was the double-billed Barbenheimer during the first weekend they showed together. Otherwise, I mostly now watch sports and news on my regular TV channels, with films and series on Netflix and Prime. Lately, FX has had a number of excellent series, but the traditional CBS/NBC/ABC line-up has been desultory for decades.
I remember seeing Japanese films now for almost three-quarters of a century. In contrast, South Korean movies only began to attract international attention from maybe 20 years ago, beginning with Park Chan-wook's Oldboy winning the Grand Prix at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. Then came Bong Joon-ho's The Host in 2006 and Snowpiercer in 2013, followed by Yeon Sang-ho's Train to Busan in 2016. In 2019, Bong's Parasite won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, followed by the Oscar for Best Film, plus 3 other categories at the 92nd Academy Awards. No Japanese film has ever won the Academy Award for Best Film.
Few remember that there was a previous golden age of South Korean cinema when films like The Housemaid (1960) and Obaltan (1961) gained attention. In 1959 alone, 111 films were produced in the country. But what happened for that 50-year period when South Korea fell back? One blame can be placed to government restrictions (obscenity, communism and unpatriotism), reducing the number of domestic film-production companies from 71 to 16 in 1962 alone.
The South Korea vs Japan comparison in recent times has been a rout for the former. Even the Busan International Film Festival has now become Asia's largest and most important film festival. What happened?
The Golden Age of Japanese cinema was in the 1950s.- More recently, Drive My Car (2021) and Godzilla Minus One (2023) drew some attention.
- Japanese people like to watch their own films, for those productions sold 70% of the tickets in the country.
- Of the 1143 films released in Japan in 2022, 634 were made in Japan, mostly of low budget, and many manga based. I long ago stopped going to American comic book films, like Spiderman and the lot.
- Between the 50s and the present, by the 60s, Japanese films lost something. Call it creativity or whatever, but something was lacking. The culture went stale. Maybe the continuing demise caused by the financial bubble bursting a third of a century ago and the Earthquake/Tsunami/Nuclear Disaster of 2011 hurt.
- Seems like anime/manga in reading form took over from viewing.
- From Google AI Overview.
The perceived decline in the appeal of Japanese films can be attributed to several factors, primarily the rise of television in the 1970s which significantly reduced cinema audiences, leading to a decline in studio production quality, and a shift towards more niche or "indie" filmmaking styles that may not resonate as broadly with international audiences as the classic Japanese cinema of the past, which featured iconic directors like Akira Kurosawa; many argue that the industry is now struggling to produce consistently high-quality, mainstream films that capture the same level of acclaim as before.
I travel a lot, and have watched countless films on planes. In the 80s and 90s I tended to view Japanese films because I was familiar with the general content. American blockbusters I already had seen. Then from 2000, I noticed that South Korean films better captured my interest for being stylish, innovative, endearing and complete. Not so from the Japanese productions.
The most memorable Japanese film I've seen in ages is Tampopo, which I had recorded a long time ago, but only played it last night. Produced in 1985, got 100/93 ratings from Rotten Tomatoes. Incidentally, one of Ken Watanabe's early films when he was 27-years old. Many Japanese films of recent scoring so high are animated ones, underscoring the influence of manga/anime. All Rotten Tomatoes 100% by reviewers.
- #1 The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013)--animated.
- #2 Seven Samurai (1954)....one of my very favorite.
- #3 Drive My Car (2021)....whoops, only 97.
- #4 Still Walking (2008)
- #5 Only Yesterday (1991)--animated.
- #6 Tampopo (1985)
- #7 Tokyo Story (1953)...one of the most boring films I've ever seen.
#8 Grave of the Fireflies (1988)--animated.- #9 Shoplifters (2018)
- #10 Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011)...had to go up to #10 because I once had sushi at Jiro, and he was the one serving me for the whole meal.
So why are Korean productions so popular and successful?
- They have emotional appeal, are original, unexpected twists and thought-provoking.
- They have mastered the art of storytelling.
- Cover a wide range of genres: crime thrillers, romantic comedies, horror, etc.
What is the most viewed Korean series?
- Squid Game. 2021–202512 epsTV-MA. 8.0 (583K) Rate. ...
- All of Us Are Dead. 2022– 13 epsTV-MA. ...
- Vincenzo. 202121 epsNot Rated. ...
- Business Proposal. 202212 epsTV-14. ...
- Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha. 2021– 16 epsTV-14. ...
- Extraordinary Attorney Woo. 202216 epsTV-14. ...
- It's Okay to Not Be Okay. 202016 epsTV-MA. ...
- Hospital Playlist. 2020–202124 epsTV-14.
Here are the best 30 Korean dramas you can today watch on Netflix. I've seen perhaps a half dozen of them, and they were all terrific, with high Rotten Tomatoes ratings. Or, 12 K-drams with 100% Rotten Tomatoes ratings now available. Except for Moving, which is on Hulu, the rest are on Netflix.
K-Drama | Starring | Where To Watch |
|---|---|---|
To close, a review of Squid Game, Season 1, with a preview of Season 2.
- Season One (2021), Rotten Tomatoes 95/84.
- Produced by Netflix.
- Nine episodes.
- Squid Game's unflinching brutality is not for the faint of heart, but sharp social commentary and a surprisingly tender core will keep viewers glued to the screen - even if it's while watching between their fingers.
- Most watched series on Netflix.
- Supposedly has been going on annually for 32 years since 1988, and Season One is the 33rd Squid Game. Created by a group of uber rich and bored friends.
- Competion is over six rounds, pitting 455 contestants against one another in deadly children's games for a prize money of $4.56 million.
- If you win, you continue into the next round. If you lose, you DIE.
- Story has centered around Seong Gi-hun, Player 456, who wins in Season One.
- Those in pink jumpsuits with masks are workers.
- There is a Front Man, Hwang In-ho, who oversees everything, including hosting rich men who come to watch the game in person, betting on outcomes. He was the winner of the 25th game in 2015.
- Hwang's brother is good-natured detective Jun-ho, who spends Season One working undercover looking for his missing brother. Jun-ho escapes, but is shot by In-ho, falling off a cliff. However, he returns in Season Two.
- Season One generated almost a billion dollars in value, costing $21.4 million to produce.
- Season Two begins streaming on December 26.
- The second season of this South Korean dystopian survival thriller horror television series is also produced by Netflix.
- Same details....456 contestants, you die if you lose, with the champ getting $4.56 million. But game's creator says it will be more crazy.
- Seven episodes.
- There will be a Season Three.
- You can buy this guard jumpsuit for $50.
- This program features 456 players (chosen from 81,000 applicants), with 10 episodes. No one gets killed.
- Shown on Netflix beginning on 22November2023 to 6December2023.
- Winner was Mai Whelan from Virginia, who got $4.56 million by beating Phill Cain in a final game of Rock, Paper, Scissors. She was contestant 287.
- There was a 2021 $456,000 MrBeast Squid Game in Real Life. Here is a Wikipedia explanation of this production.
- Cam Qzi, number 079, won.
- Who is MrBeast? Jimmy Donaldson, who at the age of 26 was already a billionaire.
- He was the eighth youngest billionaire, and of the 16 under the age of 30, was the only one who didn't inherit his wealth.
- He is the guy in the photo.
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