Parasite is already a massive box office success which is quite remarkable for a Korean movie. Films from Korea rarely enjoy financial gratitude from viewers and have to rely on the ancillary market to make a profit. The saving grace is that most Korean movies have relatively small budgets.
Parasite is a different story in many ways. The picture directed by Bong Joon-Ho has been bathing in praise ever since its release and received awards from many organizations. Before getting nominated for 6 Oscar awards, the film managed to win multiple grand prizes on international festivals including Cannes and Chicago Film Critics Associations.
The absolutely massive list of accolades made the movie a front-runner for Oscars. However, winning both the best international film and the best film was quite surprising for everyone. Parasite definitely deserves its high praise but sweeping Oscars was an unexpectable occasion. What is even cooler for the movie is that its box office run continues after the win at Oscars and it is going strong!
The film was reintroduced to audiences in the US in 941 cinemas meaning that now US moviegoers can watch the movie in over 2000 theaters and even experience it in IMAX. The movie continues to collect money from viewers and managed to amass a worldwide box office haul of $220 million worldwide total. For a movie filmed on an $11 million budget, such success in theaters means a lot. It is definitely the biggest picture from Korea and the highlight of Bong Joon-Ho’s career.
It is the highest-grossing international film ever shown in the US and the record will be even higher after the box office run concludes in several weeks. The ancillary market is also a big deal since the movie is already available on DVD and some streaming services. Seeing how many people still want to experience it in movie theaters despite having an opportunity to watch it at home is quite impressive.
The interest of the film is also heated by the fact that Bong Joon-Ho is in talks to create an English language adaptation for his movie for HBO. It is rumored that it won’t be a remake or even a re-imagination of the movie but instead focus on different characters with a somewhat similar storyline.
