‘Parasite’ Gets Its Oscars Bump, With Theaters Doubling Showings

(Bloomberg) -- “Parasite,” the South Korean comic thriller that took home the Oscar for best picture Sunday, is cashing in on its newfound fame.

U.S. and Canadian theaters are doubling the number of locations showing the film to 2,000, and online ticket sales have jumped 443% from last week on box-office website Fandango, the service said. It’s now the third-most in-demand film on Fandango.

A humorous look at class differences in South Korea was the surprise winner at the Academy Awards and became the first foreign-language film to win the top prize. Bong Joon Ho was crowned best director, and the picture also captured prizes for best international feature and for its original screenplay.

“Moviegoers who haven’t seen the movie yet are anxious to discover it on the big screen or at home, while fans who have already seen ‘Parasite’ are ready to rewatch Bong Joon Ho’s masterpiece to unpack its many layers,” said Erik Davis, Fandango’s managing editor.

“Parasite” has also seen a jolt in online sales. Rentals and purchases of the film on the FandangoNow service are up 468% from a week earlier, according to a statement. The movie is the third-most-popular film on Amazon.com, behind “Frozen II” and Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood,” which had been a front-runner for best picture.

Hulu has streaming rights to “Parasite” and is likely to make it available in April, according to a company statement.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kelly Gilblom in Los Angeles at kgilblom@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net, Rob Golum

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