Sales of movie tickets have nearly reached half of their pre-pandemic level in the first half of this year on the back of a gradual return to normal life.

According to data from the Korean Film Council on Thursday, a total of 452-point-nine billion won worth of tickets were sold during the first six months of 2022, up more than 143 percent on-year.

The number of movie-goers more than doubled to over 44 million on-year, with box office revenue equivalent to nearly half of the total during the same period in 2019.

Led by the domestic action-comedy sensation "The Roundup" released in May, the total earnings of Korean movies hit 225-point-six billion won.

Meanwhile, foreign films logged sales totaling 227-point-three billion won, driven by the success of "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness."