'Parasite' Tops Japanese Weekend Box Office

[Asia Economy Reporter Jonggil Lee] Director Bong Joon-ho's film Parasite has taken the Japanese box office by storm. According to major Japanese media on the 17th, the film attracted the largest audience over the past weekend (15th-16th), surpassing 1917. It is the first time in 15 years since a Korean film topped the Japanese box office, the last being A Moment to Remember in 2005.

Parasite was released in Japan on the 10th of last month. Starting at 5th place at the box office, its ranking gradually rose, and after news of its four Academy Awards including Best Picture on the 10th spread, word of mouth propelled it to the top spot. The Japanese distributor explained, "The exact weekend revenue is still being calculated," adding, "This is the first time a Korean film has led the box office through a reverse-run success."

Korean films enjoyed great popularity in Japan during the mid-2000s. The highest-grossing film to date is A Moment to Remember (2005), which earned 3 billion yen. The second highest is My Wife Is a Gangster (2.75 billion yen), and third is My Sassy Girl (2 billion yen), released in 2005 and 2004 respectively. Other hits include Shiri (1.8 billion yen, 2000), Taegukgi (1.5 billion yen, 2004), and Joint Security Area (JSA) (1.16 billion yen, 2001), all earning over 1 billion yen in revenue.

Parasite also performed strongly in North America last weekend, earning $5.5 million (approximately 6.5 billion KRW), a 234% increase from the previous weekend. Its total North American revenue to date is $44 million (52.1 billion KRW).