‘Parasite’ screened at over 1,000 theaters in North America

January 31, 2020

The number of theaters in North America screening director Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite” surpassed 1,000 over the weekend, industry watcher Box Office Mojo has said.

According to the U.S. website tracking film revenues early this week, the South Korean black comedy was screened in 1,060 cinemas Sunday.

Since it opened in three theaters in New York and Los Angeles on Oct. 11, the movie took US$30.91 million at the North American box office, the seventh largest ever among foreign language films.

The number of theaters showing “Parasite” had been on the decline after hitting 620 late last year but has sharply increased since it won the best foreign language film at the Golden Globe Awards on Jan. 6.

The winner of the Palme d’Or at last year’s Cannes Film Festival has earned six nominations for Academy Awards, including best picture and best director.

“Parasite” also made a strong showing in Japan. Since its release on Jan. 10, its revenue has exceeded 1 billion yen (US$9.16 million), according to Bitters End, its distributor in Japan.

The movie took fourth place at the Japanese box office over the weekend, up from fifth in its debut weekend.

Bong Joon-ho accepts the award for best director for "Parasite" at the 25th annual Critics' Choice Awards on Jan. 12, 2020, at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California, in this photo released by the Associated Press. (Yonhap)

Bong Joon-ho accepts the award for best director for “Parasite” at the 25th annual Critics’ Choice Awards on Jan. 12, 2020, at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California, in this photo released by the Associated Press. (Yonhap)