'Parasite' sets box office record in Japan and U.K.

“Parasite” has become the highest-grossing Korean film in Japan and the U.K. Courtesy of CJENM

By Lee Gyu-lee

Oscar-winning film “Parasite” has made box office history in Japan and the U.K. by becoming the highest-grossing Korean film in both countries.

Distributor CJ ENM announced Monday that the black comedy grossed more than 4 billion yen ($38.9 million) in Japan, and has topped the box office there for four weeks in a row.

This surpasses the previous record set by the Korean film “A Moment to Remember” (2004), making director Bong Joon-ho's “Parasite” the highest-grossing of all Korean movies.

A poster for the black and white version of “Parasite”/ Courtesy of CJENM

In the U.K., the film had a record-breaking opening day, grossing $1.8 million in 137 theaters across the country, according to Box Office Mojo.

A week after its opening, the film's showings tripled to 428 theaters and continued to expand to 579 theaters by March.

Ticket sales totaled 14.9 million pounds as of Mar. 8, a record for a foreign film in the U.K.

As of Friday, the film had grossed $253.5 million worldwide.

Since winning the highest honor ― he Palme d'Or ― at the Cannes Film Festival in May, the satirical thriller has been in a worldwide hit. It rewrote history at the 92nd Academy Awards last month, becoming the first foreign film to win four awards, including the Best Picture and Best Directing.

Meanwhile, the black and white version was supposed to be released in Korea on Feb. 26, but the distributor has canceled the release due to the coronavirus.