South Korean auteur Bong Joon-ho's family satire "Parasite" has maintained its strong theatrical presence at the US box office, industry data showed Tuesday.
The Korean-language film, released stateside on Oct. 11, added $2.6 million to its US gross from Friday to Sunday, according to data from Box Office Mojo.
Its total reached $7.5 million, far outnumbering Bong's previous English-language science fiction movie "Snowpiercer" (2013), which garnered $4.6 million in 2013.
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(CJ Entertainment) |
It is now being screened in 461 theaters in cities like New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago and San Francisco, up from 129 theaters a week earlier.
"Parasite" was first shown in a total of three theaters in New York and Los Angeles, earning an estimated $384,000 for the first weekend, with a per-screen average of $128,000.
It was the best per-screen haul since "La La Land" in 2016, and the biggest per-screen number for any international film opening in the US.
Separate data, released Monday by US box office data provider The Numbers, showed that "Parasite" saw its worldwide box office top $109 million as of Monday. It exceeded "Snowpiercer" and "The Host" (2006), which earned $87.8 million and $92.6 million, respectively.
The film racked up the largest gross of $71.2 million in South Korea, followed by $11.9 million in France, the data showed.
Thanks to its bullish run at the US box office, "Parasite" has emerged as one of the strongest contenders for the Oscar award for best international feature film.
Earlier, it was selected as South Korea's entry to the category at the upcoming Academy Awards slated for February. US media also consider the film as a candidate for the best picture and best director awards.
The flick revolves around two families, one rich and one poor, who become entangled, leading to a series of unexpected violent mishaps. It won the top prize, the Palme d'Or, at this year's Cannes Film Festival. (Yonhap)
