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Korean film ‘The Handmaiden’ prospers in North America

October 26, 2016

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 26 (Yonhap) — South Korean auteur Park Chan-wook’s latest erotic thriller “The Handmaiden” is putting on a stellar performance in North America, with additional releases to be made in the country starting from Friday, the movie’s local distributor said Tuesday.

The film is set to reach over 100 theaters in 25 additional cities including Seattle, Chicago and New Jersey.

Released at five cinemas in Los Angeles and New York last weekend, the film earned US$92,129 in just three days, CJ Entertainment America said.

Despite its two-hour-plus running time, the movie brought in large audiences, with tickets sold out for two days upon its Friday release.

The film also made third place in the whole U.S. for average ticket sales per cinema, calculated to be worth around $18,426.

“Park’s phenomenal piece has appealed to local audiences. We are satisfied by its box office scores so far and are anticipating the additional releases,” said Amazon studio, in charge of the film’s local distribution.

Loosely based on Sarah Waters’ award-winning novel “Fingersmith,” the film starring Kim Min-hee, Cho Jin-woong, Ha Jung-woo and Kim Tae-ri relocated the Victorian Britain setting to 1930s colonial Korea. It tells the story of a young maid hired by a con man to seduce a wealthy heiress, only to fall in love with her.

Following its premiere at the 69th Cannes Film Festival, it had been invited to various prestigious international festivals including the Toronto International Film Festival and the Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival.

In South Korea, it drew about 4.3 million viewers, the most for an R-rated film shown in the country.