Bong Joon-ho's 'Parasite' passed 'Train to Busan' to become the highest grossing Korean film released in Australia.
As of Monday July 22 the Parasite box office is $1,191,126 and spectators are 85,940. Train to Busan box office was $1,136,046.
Paul Tonta of Madman said to SBS Korean “Parasite has performed exceptionally well at multiplex sites in Sydney and Melbourne, and independent arthouse sites in these cities plus very well in other states”
“Director Bong has made another masterpiece, and is one of most brilliant and exciting filmmakers today” He said “His films are beloved, and his profile and fanbase has been consistently growing in Australia.”
Paul Tonta explained that the timing for June 27 theatrical release in Australia was a charmed one.
Renowned Korean director Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite received the Sydney Film Festival's main award, the $60,000 Sydney Film Prize at the festival's closing ceremony on 16 June after winning the prestigious Palme D'Or at Cannes on 25 May. He is the first Korean filmmaker to do so in that festival's history.
On May 30 it was released in Korea and was an immediate box office success. The film was released in cinemas in Australia from 26 june, with exceptional praise from critics, and the word of mouth has ensured it has now become the most successful Korean film in Australian box office history.
Parasite vividly contrasts the two families using humour, mystery and a creeping sense of tension. Bong once again skillfully fuses genre elements with social critique in a wildly entertaining, visually extraordinary and intoxicating manner.