Cannes-winning ‘Parasite’ hits No. 1 in presale tickets

This image provided by CJ Entertainment shows the poster of “Parasite.” (Yonhap)

SEOUL, May 27 (Yonhap) — Bong Joon-ho’s latest feature film, “Parasite,” is expected to smash the local box office after having been awarded the top honor at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

The family satire has already recorded 127,000 pre-sold tickets as of Monday afternoon, a day after it clinched the Palme d’Or at Cannes, the first South Korean film ever to win the award, according to data from the Korean Film Council.

The movie is set for theatrical release in South Korea on Thursday.

The number 127,000 accounted for 44.3 percent of all tickets reserved as of 4:40 p.m., while Walt Disney’s live-action film “Aladdin” posted 21.5 percent. Local crime action movie “The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil,” which has attracted more than 2.7 million viewers, came in third with 8.9 percent.

It also received interest from abroad, as the film has sold to a record 192 countries.

Insiders say “Parasite” will likely join Bong’s list of smash-hit movies, including the monster film, “The Host,” which attracted more than 10 million viewers in 2006.

“Parasite,” Bong’s seventh feature film, revolves around the poor family of Ki-taek, starring Song Kang-ho, who live in a squalid, grubby basement. They become involved in a string of mishaps after the sly son gets a job as a tutor for a moneyed family residing in an opulent, gaudy mansion.