[HanCinema's News] "Squid Game - Season 2" Pushes Back Release Dates of Other Titles

On December 9th, the distributor behind "Harbin" announced that the historical epic would be changing its release date from December 25th, a national holiday and a Wednesday, to December 24th, a Tuesday. Nine days from release, "Harbin" is already leading early reservations and looks to be the big hit of the season. But despite this position of strength, "Harbin" like many other film releases this season is worried about an unusual rival- "Squid Game - Season 2" on Netflix.

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On the face of it, streaming dramas shouldn't be in competition with theatrical releases. But the ongoing public relations push behind "Squid Game - Season 2" has been overwhelming, with advertisers assuming the second season will be as big a hit as "Squid Game" was back in 2021. For "Harbin" to have even one more day to not have to compete with "Squid Game - Season 2" could mean the difference between it hitting the ten million viewer benchmark or not.

Nor is "Harbin" the only such film to be worried about being overshadowed. "It's Okay!" from "Be Melodramatic" director Kim Hye-young-I has been an international festival favorite, appearing in film festivals in Beijing, Berlin, Ho Chi Minh City, and Sydney. But even its attempt at a subtler release was stymied by the extent to which "Squid Game - Season 2" has been dominating late year energy, and "It's Okay!" has had its theatrical release pushed back to next year.

Persons related to "Firefighters" and "About Family" have also claimed that "Squid Game - Season 2" played a major factor in the exact scheduling of those films. "Bogota: City of the Lost" likely felt similar influences. Whether any of these films were truly in direct competition with "Squid Game - Season 2" for future interest is unknown, but the distributors weren't taking chances. "Squid Game - Season 2" will premiere on Netflix this coming December 26th.

Written by William Schwartz