'Parasite' gets huge box office boost after making history at Oscars

Xinhua | Updated: 2020-02-19 08:57

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A still image from the film. [Photo/Mtime]

South Korean black comedy "Parasite" got a huge box office boost after making history at the 92nd Academy Awards with four wins, hauling more than $6.8 million over the long Presidents' Day weekend in North America, according to studio figures collected by measurement firm Comscore.

"Parasite," distributed by New York-based American company Neon in North America, added 941 locations to 2,001 this weekend in reaction to its Oscar glory, making its biggest theatrical expansion yet in the region.

Bong Joon-ho's film brought in $5.682 million Friday through Sunday and an expected $6.801 million Friday through Monday for a North American cume of $44.489 million, receiving its biggest box office weekend haul in its 19th weekend in North America.

Fueled by its historic Oscar victory, "Parasite" has grossed over $200 million worldwide through Monday.

"Parasite" became the first non-English language film to win the Oscar for best picture, and also nabbed awards for best original screenplay, best international feature film and best director for Bong Joon-ho at the 92nd Academy Awards earlier this month. The commercially viable and adroitly written drama on the weighty subject of class warfare follows the members of a poor household scheming to become employees of a much wealthier family by posing as unrelated, highly-qualified individuals.

"It has become a must-see movie in a theater even though it is available on home video," Comscore's Senior Media Analyst Paul Dergarabedian told the Hollywood Reporter magazine, adding that it's one of the only two movies people were talking about over Presidents' Day.

The Hollywood Reporter magazine reported that box office analysts put the film's final US gross at $50 million or more. It would be the top showing for a non-English-language film since Chinese film director Zhang Yimou's "Hero," which grossed $53.7 million 18 years ago. "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," released in 2000, holds the top spot with its US gross of $128 million.