Korean Cheerleading Drama ‘Victory’ to Get North American Release

Korean cheerleading movie Victory is headed to U.S. cinemas. Ahead of its upcoming South Korean release, the film was pre-sold by Seoul-based sales outfit Finecut to 815 Pictures for a North American theatrical run. 

Described as “an uplifting and heartwarming drama centered around a high-school dance duo,” the film follows the cheerleaders as they inspire an underdog school soccer team and the surrounding village on a remote Korean island. Directed by Park Beom-su, known for Single in Seoul and Red Carpet, the film premiered as the opening title at the recent New York Asian Film Festival, where one of its stars, Lee Hye-ri, was honored with the event’s screen international rising star Asia award.

Finecut also has inked deals for the movie across Asia, including to Sky Films Entertainment for Taiwan; Lumix Media for Vietnam; PT Prima Cinema Multimedia for Indonesia; House of M for Thailand; Emphasis Video Entertainment for inflight distribution; and by Westec Media Limited for Cambodia. 

Victory will open in North America on Aug. 16, shortly after its Aug. 14 bow in South Korea. Finecut says the other Asia release dates will be spread out through August and September. 

The rest of the cast includes: Park Se-wan (Life is Beautiful) as the other member of the dance duo; Cho A-ram (from TV series Thank You), as a former member of a cheerleading squad in Seoul who moves to the village; and Lee Jung Ha (of the Disney+ hit Moving), playing the role of a goalkeeper of the school soccer team that always loses.

Produced by Korea’s Annapurna Films, headed by Lee Anna, the producer behind box office hits like Sunny and Scandal Makers, Victory is presented by Mindmark, a content IP company owned by the Shinsegae Group. Mindmark has been involved as a financier and Korean distributor of local titles like Brave Citizen, Love Reset and Honey Sweet. Its recent slate also includes Hur Jin-ho’s A Normal Family and Boss.