No one expected 'Friends,' directed by Gwak Gyeong-taek, to attract 8.1 million moviegoers nationwide when the film was released in April. The director himself dreamed of maybe 400,000 moviegoers. The film's considerable popularity rode the continued success of so-called gangster movies on the domestic market adding to the national debate on violence. The movie also beat out Hollywood blockbusters for the first time. Korean films this year took a 46% of market share, while the number of moviegoers increased by 80% from 2000.