CJ CGV, South Korea’s largest cinema chain, reported a record quarterly operating profit of KRW73.6bn ($54.3m) for July to September, more than triple the KRW23.3bn of a year earlier, in a regulatory disclosure on 6 November 2026. Consolidated sales rose 18% to KRW688.1bn ($508m), and the company swung to a net profit of KRW37.2bn ($27.4m) from a loss of KRW28.7bn.
Key facts
- Operating profit: KRW73.6bn ($54.3m), up 215% on KRW23.3bn and the highest of any quarter in the company’s history, according to CJ CGV
- Sales: KRW688.1bn ($508m), up 18%; net profit KRW37.2bn ($27.4m) against a KRW28.7bn loss
- Korean cinemas: sales up 32% to KRW259bn ($191m), with operating profit of KRW28bn ($20.7m) against a KRW5.6bn loss
- Korean admissions at CGV: 20.05 million, up 28.6%, against a market that grew 22%
- Premium formats (IMAX, 4DX, ScreenX): 18.1% of Korean admissions, against 6.7% in the third quarter of 2019
What drove the quarter
The Korean cinema business did most of the work. CGV’s domestic sales grew 32% even though it ran 175 theatres, down from 181 a year earlier, and the division moved from a KRW5.6bn operating loss to a KRW28bn profit. The company credits Hollywood releases, in particular The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and a larger share of premium-format viewing, and says its growth outpaced the market because of share gains centred on premium auditoriums. Admissions at its Korean sites rose 28.6% to 20.05 million, ahead of the 22% growth in the national market.
The national figures from the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) show how concentrated the quarter was. Total film revenue in Korea was KRW423.4bn ($312m) on 39.96 million admissions, up 29% and 22% on the third quarter of 2025. The Odyssey took KRW134.3bn ($99.1m) and 11.86 million admissions, of which KRW39.1bn ($28.8m) came from special-format screens and KRW29.0bn ($21.4m) from IMAX alone, 21.6% of the film’s Korean revenue. Spider-Man: Brand New Day added KRW93.4bn ($68.9m) and 9.04 million admissions. CJ CGV puts its share of Korean admissions at 50.2%, up from 47% in the third quarter of 2019; its 20.05 million admissions are half of KOFIC’s 39.96 million total.
Fewer viewers, more profit
CJ CGV also compares the quarter with the third quarter of 2019. National admissions were about 40 million, against 61 million then, yet CGV’s Korean operating profit rose from KRW26.5bn to KRW28bn. The company points to premium formats, which grew from 6.7% to 18.1% of its Korean admissions, and to an average ticket price that rose from KRW8,262 to KRW10,304. The comparison is in nominal won, with no adjustment for inflation.
Subsidiaries and overseas
CJ 4DPLEX, the group’s 4DX and ScreenX technology arm, grew sales 25% to KRW42.5bn ($31.4m) and lifted operating profit from KRW3.5bn to KRW9.0bn ($6.6m). The company says Spider-Man: Brand New Day set a record for ScreenX and 4DX, and that global box office for the two formats reached $204m in the quarter, up about 33%. Another subsidiary, CJ OliveNetworks, reported sales of KRW224.2bn ($165m) and operating profit of KRW16.5bn ($12.2m), up 9.7% and 9.1%.
Overseas results were mixed. Turkey returned to an operating profit of KRW4.6bn ($3.4m), and China’s profit rose to KRW6.6bn ($4.9m). Vietnam made KRW7.7bn ($5.7m), down 47.6%, which CJ CGV attributes to the comparison with a record third quarter in 2025.
The balance sheet and what comes next
Cumulative sales for the first nine months were KRW1.86tn ($1.37bn), with operating profit of KRW93.8bn ($69.2m). The debt ratio fell to 411.2% from 534% at the end of 2025. Yonhap Infomax reported that the quarter’s operating profit beat the KRW54.7bn average forecast of four brokerages, and revenue came in just below the KRW697.6bn consensus.
CJ CGV expects growth in Korean and overseas cinemas and in premium formats to continue in the fourth quarter, naming the December releases Avengers: Doomsday and Dune: Part Three. The nine-month total implies an operating profit of only KRW20.2bn ($14.9m) for the first half, so the year so far leans on the three months to September. All dollar conversions in this article use the European Central Bank reference rates of 30 September 2026 (KRW1,355 to the dollar), the last day of the quarter. Figures for 2019 are given in won only.
For comparison, see FilmBunch’s reports on IMAX’s record third-quarter revenue, AMC Theatres’ record quarter and Universal’s re-release of The Odyssey on 1,000 North American screens. More under Money & Policy.
Our reading
CGV’s record quarter follows the record quarters at IMAX and AMC Theatres reported above, and its own numbers show how the result was built. Korea had 34% fewer admissions than in the third quarter of 2019, yet the largest chain earned slightly more at home, on higher ticket prices and a premium-format share nearly three times larger. The risk sits in concentration. The Odyssey alone supplied KRW134.3bn, about 32% of the market’s quarterly revenue, so the fourth quarter leans on two December releases, Avengers: Doomsday and Dune: Part Three, which CJ CGV names as its next drivers.
Sources
- CJ CGV, third-quarter 2026 consolidated results (regulatory disclosure, 6 November 2026), as reported by News1 and Financial News
- Chosunbiz, CJ CGV triples profit as premium formats lift South Korea box office share (6 November 2026; segment, subsidiary and overseas figures)
- Yonhap Infomax, CJ CGV third-quarter operating profit KRW73.6bn (6 November 2026; analyst consensus)
- Korean Film Council (KOFIC), Korean film industry Q3 2026 results (market totals and The Odyssey IMAX figures)