"Parasite" official poster/Courtesy of CJ Entertainment

Cannes-winning movie dominates Korean box office

Director Bong Joon-ho’s latest film “Parasite,” which won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival last month, has attracted more than 6.5 million moviegoers in 10 days after its opening.

“Parasite,” which was released on May 30 here, added 637,522 viewers on June 8 to chalk up a cumulative 6.51 million attendances on the 10th day of its release.

Throughout the 10 days, the winner of the prestigious annual French festival, which is Bong’s fourth collaboration with actor Song Kang-ho, remained atop the Korean box office.

The film, which is a black comedy, suspense thriller and bloodbath all mixed into one, is expected to easily surpass 10 million viewers midway through this month.

The question is whether the genre-bending masterpiece will be able to draw more than 13 million attendance to break director Bong’s previous record with the Host.

The Host, which also starred Song, is a 2006 monster film. By the end of its run, just higher than 13 million tickets were sold in Korea.

“Parasite” marks Bong’s return to fully Korean film in a decade, following “Okja” and “Snowpiercer.” The former is his 2017 Netflix title while the latter is a 2012 English-language science fiction film.

The story is basically about two families – one being very wealthy and the other greatly poor – whose lives become intertwined in a strange way.

The poor family tries to become “parasites” of the rich family by providing “luxury” services. At first, the interactions appear to work but they eventually fall apart in a tragic fashion.

The dark comedy, which has been showered with praise from critics across the globe, has clinched sales deals with 192 countries to reach its break-even point even before its official launch.

 
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