Go Pro Today

‘Parasite’ Sets Foreign Language Record at Indie Box Office

Bong Joon-Ho film posts largest per screen average since 2016

| October 13, 2019 @ 9:46 AM Last Updated: October 13, 2019 @ 9:51 AM
Parasite Bong Joon Ho

"Parasite" / Neon

After becoming the first Korean film to win the Palme D’Or at Cannes, Bong Joon-Ho’s “Parasite” has set several new records at the indie box office, including the largest per screen average for any foreign language film.

With approximately $376,274 grossed and a per screen average of $125,421, “Parasite” has also earned the largest average for any film in the last three years. To find a higher average, you have to go back to the release of “La La Land” in December 2016, where it earned a $176,000 average from a five screen release. “Parasite” now ranks as the 18th highest per screen average of all time and 8th highest per screen average for all live action films.

Also Read: 'Parasite' Film Review: Bong Joon-ho Tackles Disparity With Delicious Dark Comedy

NEON released “Parasite” this weekend at the Arclight Hollywood, the Los Angeles Landmark, and the IFC Center in New York, earning multiple sellout screenings at all three locations. That includes a Cinerama Dome screening where Joon-Ho appeared for a post-screening Q&A. The film also set a new record for best opening weekend ever at the IFC Center, breaking the mark set in 2014 by Richard Linklater’s “Boyhood.”

Boasting a 99% Rotten Tomatoes score, “Parasite” follows a poor Korean family who cons their way into jobs for an affluent architect’s family while keeping their relation to each other secret from their new employers. Their deception allows the family a taste of the good life, but an unexpected twist leads to a bloody clash between the haves and the have-nots.

NEON will expand “Parasite” to 25-30 screens next weekend, opening in additional screens in L.A. and New York while opening in  Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and Washington, DC.

Also Read: Bong Joon-Ho's Palme d'Or Winner 'Parasite' Gets Sinister First Trailer (Video)

Elsewhere, Sony Pictures Classics’ “Pain and Glory” expanded to those six cities in its second weekend in theaters and earned a solid $289,147 from 23 screens for an average of $12,572 and a total of $574,571. Roadside Attractions’ “Judy” added $3.25 million from 1,627 screens, giving it a total of just under $15 million after three weekends.

Greenwich Entertainment’s “Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice” passed $3 million in its sixth weekend after grossing $262,000 from 168 screens, while Amazon Studios’ “Brittany Runs A Marathon” will pass the $7 million mark after its eighth week in theaters after grossing $66,679 this weekend. Finally, Roadside’s “The Peanut Butter Falcon” will cross the $20 million mark in its ninth week in theaters after grossing $278,567 this week.

Antonio Banderas, Kerry Washington and 95 More Portraits From TheWrap's Toronto Studio (Photos)

  • TIFF2019 portrait split
  • Robert Pattinson, Robert Eggers, and Willem Dafoe, The Lighthouse
  • Kerry Washington, American Son
  • Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory
  • Bryce Dallas Howard, Dads
  • Isabelle Huppert, Frankie
  • Isabelle Huppert and Ira Sachs, Frankie
  • Christopher Plummer, Knives Out
  • Katherine Langford, Knives Out
  • Jaeden Martell, Knives Out
  • Jamie Lee Curtis, Knives Out
  • Don Johnson, Knives Out
  • Toni Collette, Knives Out
  • Knives Out Cast and Director Rian Johnson
  • Finn Wittrock, Renée Zellweger, and Rupert Goold, Judy
  • Cynthia Erivo, Harriet
  • Leslie Odom Jr, Harriet
  • Kasi Lemmons, Harriet
  • Harriet Director and Cast
  • Marielle Heller, A Beautiful Day
  • Enrico Colantoni, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
  • Kelvin Harrison Jr, Waves
  • Alexa Demie, Waves
  • Lucas Hedges, Waves
  • Taylor Russell, Waves
  • Trey Edward Shults, Waves
  • Waves Cast and Director Trey Edward Schults
  • Dakota Johnson, The Friend
  • Jason Segel, The Friend
  • Matthew Teague, Dakota Johnson, Jason Segel, and Gabriela Cowperthwaite, The Friend
  • Jamie Dornan, Synchronic
  • Jamie Dornan and Ally Ioannides, Synchronic
  • Ally Ioannides, Justin Benson, Jamie Dornan, and Aaron Moorhead,Synchronic
  • Priyanka Chopra Jonas, The Sky is Pink
  • Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Shonali Bose, The Sky is Pink
  • Isla Fisher, Greed
  • Isla Fisher and Steve Coogan, Greed
  • Beanie Feldstein, How to Build a Girl
  • Alfie Allen, How to Build a Girl
  • Alfie Allen and Beanie Feldstein, How to Build a Girl
  • Coky Giedroyc, Caitlin Moran, Beanie Feldstein, and Alfie Allen, How to Build a Girl
  • Bolude Watson, Hearts and Bones
  • Andrew Luri, Hearts and Bones
  • Hugo Weaving, Hearts and Bones
  • Hearts and Bones cast and Director Ben Lawrence
  • Gabe Polsky and Steven Warshaw, Red Penguins
  • Kyle Marvin and Michael Angelo Covino,The Climb
  • Alex Wolff, Bad Education
  • Ray Romano, Bad Education
  • Bad Education Cast
  • Military Wives Director and Cast
  • Ellen Page, There's Something in the Water
  • Taika Waititi, Jojo Rabbit
  • Roman Griffin Davis, Jojo Rabbit
  • Alfie Allen, Jojo Rabbit
  • Stephen Merchant, Jojo Rabbit
  • JoJo Rabbit Cast and Director Taika Waititi
  • Gael Garcia Bernal, Ema
  • Mariana Di Girolamo, Ema
  • Santiago Cabrera, Ema
  • Gael Garcia Bernal, Mariana Di Girolamo, Santiago Santiago Cabrera, and Pablo Larraín, Ema
  • Julie Delpy, My Zoe
  • RIchard Armitage, My Zoe
  • Richard Armitage and Julie Delpy, My Zoe
  • Halina Reid, Instinct
  • Carice van Houten, Instinct
  • Valerie Pachner, A Hidden Life
  • August Diehl, A Hidden Life
  • Stellan Skarsgård, Hope
  • Andrea Bræin Hovig, Stellan Skarsgård, and Maria Sødahl, Hope
  • Laysla De Oliveira and Rossif Sutherland, Guest of Honour
  • Makoto Shinkai, Weathering With You
  • Daniel Radcliffe, Guns Akimbo
  • Samara Weaving, Guns Akimbo
  • Guns Akimbo Cast and Director Jason Lei Howden
  • Charlie Hunnam, True History of The Kelly Gang
  • George MacKay, True History of the Kelly Gang
  • Justin Kurzel, True History of the Kelly Gang
  • True History of the Kelly Gang Cast and Director
  • Josh and Ben Safdie, Adam Sandler, Uncut Gems
  • Idina Menzel, Uncut Gems
  • Kevin Garnett, Uncut Gems
  • Julia Fox, Uncut Gems
  • LaKeith Stanfield, Uncut Gems
  • Uncut Gems Cast and Directors Safdie Brothers
  • Edgar Ramírez, Wasp Network
  • Wagner Moura, Wasp Network
  • Wasp Network Cast and Director Olivier Assayas
  • Alex Wolff, Human Capital
  • Maya Hawke and Alex Wolff, Human Capital
  • Human Capital Cast and Director Marc Meyers
  • Willem Dafoe, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and Edward Norton, Motherless Brooklyn
  • Claes Bang, The Burnt Orange Heresy
  • Giuseppe Capotondi, The Burnt Orange Heresy
  • Hirokazu Koreeda, The Truth
  • Jonathan Pryce, The Two Popes
  • The Two Popes Cast, Writer and Director
  • Malky Godman, Keith Thomas, Dave Davis, and Menashe Lustig, The Vigil
1 of 98

Toronto Film Festival 2019: Robert Pattinson, Renée Zellweger, LaKeith Stanfield and more stop by TheWrap’s studio in the Thompson Hotel

View In Gallery

Related Content