‘Parasite’ Will Stream Exclusively on Hulu in U.S.
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Hulu has exclusive U.S. streaming rights to “Parasite,” the film that made history as the first foreign-language film to win best picture at this year’s Oscars.
Under a deal with indie studio Neon, “Parasite” will be available on Hulu beginning Wednesday, April 8, the Disney-controlled streamer announced.
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The movie from filmmaker Bong Joon Ho won four Academy Awards for best picture, international film, best director, and original screenplay (which Bong wrote with Jin Won Han).
The thriller/dark comedy explores socioeconomic inequality in South Korea, following an impoverished, literally basement-dwelling family posing as qualified professionals to gain long-term employment by a wealthy family. Neon acquired the North American rights to “Parasite” from Korea’s CJ Entertainment.
Hulu’s streaming rights to “Parasite” come under a multiyear licensing pact it struck with Neon back in 2017, under which all of the distributor’s films and content become available to stream exclusively on Hulu following their theatrical release.
“Parasite” was written and directed by Bong and features a cast including his longtime collaborator Song Kang Ho, as well as Choi Woo Shik, Park So Dam, Cho Yeo Jeong, Lee Jung Eun, Lee Sun Kyun and Chang Hyae Jin. The film premiered in May 2019 at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the festival’s Palme d’Or top prize.
The weekend after its Oscars triumph, the film posted a record box-office increase in ticket sales for a movie that won a best-picture Academy Award, after Neon doubled the North American theatrical footprint. The awards wins also prompted digital sales of “Parasite” to shoot up. Through Monday, “Parasite” has garnered $48.9 million at the domestic box office and $155.6 million worldwide, per Box Office Mojo.
Hulu had 30.4 million subscribers as of the end of 2019, up 33% for the year, Disney said in announcing Q4 earnings. Of those, 3.2 million also paid for Hulu’s live TV channel bundle. Disney secured control of Hulu last year through the 20th Century Fox deal and via a separate pact with Comcast/NBCUniversal, which eventually will sell its Hulu stake to the Mouse House.
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