Park Chan-wook sets a career record at North American box office, while a faith-based animation sits squarely atop the all-time chart
Park Chan-wook's "No Other Choice" has crossed the $10 million mark in the North American box office, pushing his career record in the region even further ahead, the film's South Korean distributor CJ ENM said Tuesday.
The black comedy about a laid-off paper mill worker who goes after his rival job applicants passed $10 million in takeings on Feb. 28, according to CJ ENM. The film opened with a limited release on Christmas Day, before expanding to 695 theaters on Jan. 16.
Neon, which acquired North American distribution rights ahead of the film's festival run, handles the release in the region.
"In a market where non-English-language films still face significant barriers to entry, this result demonstrates once again the global reach that Korean cinema is capable of," a CJ ENM official said. The company added that the film has drawn in general audiences beyond the existing fan base, with word-of-mouth reviews driving an extended theatrical run.
Critical reception has been strong. As of Wednesday, "No Other Choice" holds a 97 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 227 reviews.
The film premiered to a nine-minute standing ovation at the Venice International Film Festival in August, then won the inaugural International People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival.
It received three nominations at the Golden Globes, including best musical or comedy and best actor for Lee Byung-hun. At the Academy Awards, it fell short of the final five in the international feature film category despite making the 15-film shortlist.
The $10 million gross represents a career high in North America for Park by a substantial margin, with his previous best in the region coming from "Oldboy." The 2003 revenge thriller holds a North American lifetime gross of roughly $2.4 million, with around $1.7 million of that coming from a 20th anniversary rerelease in 2023.
Other major titles from Park saw comparable returns during limited runs: "The Handmaiden" (2016) earned around $2 million and "Decision to Leave" (2022) approximately $2.2 million, according to Box Office Mojo.
The gross also puts "No Other Choice" ahead of several well-known Korean titles that have come through North American theatres. Bong Joon-ho's "Snowpiercer" (2013) earned roughly $4.6 million, while "The Host" (2006) pulled in around $2.2 million.
Meanwhile, "Parasite" (2019), Bong's four-time Oscar winner, remains in a category of its own — its $53.4 million North American gross was driven by a post-Oscar surge and a wide expansion that few non-English-language films have ever matched.
Sitting at the top of the all-time chart for Korean films in North America, however, is "The King of Kings," a faith-based animated feature directed by South Korean filmmaker Jang Seong-ho and released by Angel Studios on April 11, 2025.
Loosely adapted from Charles Dickens' "The Life of Our Lord," it features English-language voice performances from Kenneth Branagh, Oscar Isaac, Mark Hamill and Pierce Brosnan, among others.
Despite mixed reviews from critics, the film earned $60.3 million in the US and Canada alone, though its worldwide gross, at $80.6 million, was far behind Parasite's $260 million.
moonkihoon@heraldcorp.com
