Cannes prize winner “Parasite,” from South Korean director Bong Joon-Ho set a record this weekend for foreign films. In just three theaters, the social satire made $376,264 or $125K per theater– one of the top openings ever. Little distributor Neon Pictures, which began ignominiously with a Michael Moore documentary and no logo, has a big hit on its hands. They’re headed to the Oscars, where they’ll have to take on Pedro Almodovar’s “Pain and Glory” with Antonio Banderas. Not bad.
“Parasite” is indeed a social satire about a family of grifters inveigling themselves into a wealthy household. It’s sort of like a soap opera on steroids, and the audience quickly begins rooting for the lower class family to get away with, well, murder. Things turn dark about halfway through, and then eschewing a happy fun ending, Bong Joon-Ho really goes for it Tarantino style.
Kudos to Neon for recognizing that this movie would strike a chord with American audiences.
Meanwhile, “Gemini Man” starring Will Smith eked out $20.5 million for the weekend, a little more than expected if the numbers hold. But it’s once of Smith’s poorest openings ever, and doesn’t bode well for its future.
In loftier worlds, “Joker” will cross $200 million US in the next day or so, by Tuesday. It’s now up to around $600 million worldwide with no end in sight.
At the other end of the spectrum, “Lucy in the Sky” from Fox Searchlight made nothing over the weekend and has a two week cume of $154,612. Seeing the critics response, parent Disney has just buried this completely. It’s a tough deal for the actors and everyone who made it,
