The South Korean Oscar-winner Parasite has created a new record by becoming the highest grossing foreign language film in the UK by beating Mel Gibson's 2004 movie The Passion Of The Christ. The movie earned more than $15 million in the country within a month of its release.
The black comedy thriller movie by director Bong Joon Ho was released in the country on February 7, a couple of days before its Academy Award win. The film, starring Song Kang Ho, Lee Sun Kyun, Cho Yeo Jeong, Choi Woo Shil, Jang Hye Jin and Park So Dam in lead roles, has been setting box office records after its ground-breaking Best Picture win at Oscars 2020.
Parasite saw a 234 per cent rise in ticket sales in the third week of February, i.e. a week after the 92nd Academy Awards. In that weekend, the twisted thriller collected $5.5 million enjoying the "biggest post-Oscar boost" for Best Picture within a decade, reported Variety.
This could be a major reason for moviegoers flocking to the film. According to production company CJ Entertainment, the movie earned around $14.32 million (£11,088,149) in the UK as of March 6. In contrast, The Passion Of The Christ recorded nearly $14.03 million (£11,078,861) 16 years ago.
The film's distributor Curzon Artificial Eye reported that the film has collected more than $15 million in the UK and beaten The Passion of the Christ, which earned $14.5 million.
"It became clear some time ago that 'Parasite' was likely to become the highest grossing non English-language film of all time at the U.K. box office and Curzon is hugely proud to be part of director Bong's historic moment. There's still plenty of theatrical life left in its current release before the black and white version hits cinemas in April," Curzon CEO Philip Knatchbull said.
Parasite revolves around the life of a poor family in South Korea who were struggling to make ends meet with their earnings from low-income jobs. They pretend to be highly-qualified and unrelated individuals to become permanently employed by a wealthy family.
