After its historic win at Sunday’s Academy Awards, Parasite will dramatically expand its theater count in the U.S. this weekend to as many as 2,000 or more locations, which doubles its current count.
Bong Joon Ho’s acclaimed South Korean film, which first opened in select cinemas in early October, is certain to expect a giant bump in box office gross after its win, considering that its widest cinema count to date has been 1,060 locations.
Before this expansion, Parasite is already one of the top-grossing foreign-language films of all time in the U.S., with $35.5 million in ticket sales through Sunday. Some analysts project it may top 45 million after this expansion run.
The film is now only days away from passing up Pan’s Labyrinth ($37.6 million) to land at No. 5 on the list. It is still a long way from reaching the number 1 spot which is currently held by Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ($128.1 million).
Parasite is the first non-English-language movie ever to win the Oscar for best picture. It won three other top awards Sunday night; best director, best original screenplay and best international feature. Paul Dergarabedian of Comscore stated,
“The good news for Parasite is that the film’s many mysteries and complexities make it required viewing not only in the movie theater, but on home video where audiences can take the time to study the nuances and puzzling dynamics that make the story so intriguing and irresistible,”
