After its historic Best Picture win at the Academy Awards, Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite expanded its theatrical presence so that more audiences could check the film out in theaters and it could benefit from its rightfully deserved spotlight. Now audiences will get to experience Parasite like never before because the proud recipient of four Oscars is coming to IMAX in the hopes of boosting its box office haul even higher.
Parasite will receive a one-week engagement in IMAX theaters starting tomorrow, February 21, according to Deadline. Bong Joon-ho’s film will play in 214 domestic auditoriums across the U.S. and Canada in the premium format. Parasite was already gorgeous to begin with, and it was digitally re-mastered into the IMAX format for this release, meaning that it should look better than ever on the big screen.
Parasite is already available to stream at home and purchase on Blu-ray (though not 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, what gives?), but it should really be seen as intended on the big screen, so for those who haven’t seen the film yet or want to see it again, this IMAX release will give them an opportunity to do so in a premium large format for the most immersive experience. This comes at a premium of course, and the IMAX release should help give Parasite a boost at the box office.
Last weekend, Parasite expanded its theatrical footprint domestically by adding 941 additional theaters, bringing its presence up to 2,001 locations. That expanded presence vaulted Parasite into the domestic top 10 for the first time since its release. It added another $6.6 million to its domestic total over the four-day President’s Day weekend with an eighth place finish.
That represented a 22% jump in Parasite’s domestic haul, one of the best Best Picture box office bumps of the last five years. As of now, Parasite has made $44.9 million domestically and $197.8 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo.
That expanded theatrical footprint, plus the one-week IMAX engagement and the corresponding premium priced tickets, should help Parasite to breeze past the $50 million mark at the domestic box office. Parasite was already 2019’s highest-grossing foreign film, and now it's set to go even higher.
Parasite’s Best Picture win was heralded as a watershed moment for the industry, becoming the first non-English speaking film to win the Academy’s top prize. In many ways, golden statues and contests to see who is the best don’t matter, but such awards bring awareness to films that might not otherwise receive it and such is the case for Parasite.
Now Bong Joon-ho’s film, a film with subtitles, will play across the country on the biggest screens, in a format more commonly associated with superheroes and blockbusters. That's pretty neat.
Parasite is now playing. Check it out and check out our 2020 Release Schedule to see what other movies are coming out this year.
