Parasite grosses S$1.13 million at Singapore box office to date after historic Oscar Best Picture win
SINGAPORE — The historic win of the top Oscars by Parasite has ignited wider interest in the South Korean movie among global audiences including in Singapore, where it earned S$1.13 million after 33 weeks as of Monday (17 February).
Directed by Bong Joon Ho, Parasite - described as a dark comedy as well as a class conflict thriller - won the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best International Film and Best Original Screenplay.
It is the first non-English language movie to win the Best Picture award at the Oscars, widely considered as the most prestigious film awards in the world.
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Clover Films and Golden Village Pictures, which distribute the film in Singapore, said in a press release today that Parasite was one of only five Korean-language movies so far to have surpassed the S$1 million mark in box office earnings in Singapore.
Parasite is currently third for highest ticket sales among Korean movies here. The other Korean movies in the category were Train To Busan, The Battleship Island, and Along With The Gods as well as its sequel, Along With The Gods 2 (see table below).
Over 13-16 February, Parasite took the No. 2 spot at the Singapore box office with a collection of S$270,000.
The movie did not receive much notice when it was initially released in Singapore in June 2019 but its stunning win at the Oscars last Monday (Singapore time) has sent local movie goers flocking to the cinemas.
Starring Song Kang-ho, Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Yeo-jeong, Jang Hye-jin, Choi Woo-shik and Park So-dam, Parasite tells the story of a poor family who insinuate themselves as servants into a much richer family.
South Koreans are overjoyed by the movie’s success, with many of them visiting spots where scenes from the movie were filmed.
Parasite is still showing in cinemas island-wide. A black and white version of the film is screening at selected cinemas.
TOP 10 ALL-TIME BOX OFFICE CHART FOR KOREAN MOVIES IN SINGAPORE
Rank | Movie Title | Release Date | Final Box Office (S$) |
1 | Train To Busan | 04-Aug-2016 | $5.35 million |
2 | The Battleship Island | 17-Aug-2017 | $1.5 million |
3 | Parasite | 27-June-2019 | $1.13 million |
4 | Along With The Gods | 11-Jan-2018 | $1.12 million |
5 | Along With The Gods 2 | 22 Aug 2018 | $1.05 million |
6 | 200 Pounds Beauty | 19-Apr-2007 | $978,200 |
7 | Ashfall | 2-Jan-2020 | $920,000 |
8 | Wishing Stairs | 13-Nov-2003 | $839,500 |
9 | The Host | 07-Sep-2006 | $685,700 |
10 | Brotherhood | 15-Jul-2004 | $585,300 |
