Bong Joon-ho’s new film ‘Mickey 17’ topped the North American box office this past weekend. This marks the first time a Korean director has achieved this record. However, the film’s opening weekend revenue fell short of expectations, raising concerns about recouping the significant production and marketing costs involved.
According to Box Office Mojo, the film grossed $19.1 million (about 27.69 billion won) from 3,807 screens across North America in its first three days. Outside of North America, it earned $34.2 million, bringing the global box office total to $53.3 million (about 77.27 billion won). In terms of revenue from countries outside North America, South Korea led the way with $9 million in its opening week, followed by strong performances in France ($2.9 million) and the UK ($2.7 million).
Prior industry estimates had pegged the film’s North American opening weekend revenue at approximately $20 million. However, with the production cost set at $118 million (about 171.08 billion won) and an additional $80 million (about 116 billion won) spent on marketing, the film will need to gross between $275 million and $300 million globally to break even.
Despite its box office success, the film received a ‘B’ grade from CinemaScore and middling scores on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics rating it at 79% and audiences at 73%. This is comparatively lower than Bong’s previous works like ‘Parasite,’ which scored 99% from critics and 95% from audiences.
Warner Bros.’ president of global distribution, Jeff Goldstein, remarked that while starting with $53 million globally is a positive sign, the revenue compared to the costs makes it challenging. He hopes that the premium formats contribute to word-of-mouth promotion and emphasized that premium large screen formats accounted for 47% of North American ticket sales. Goldstein noted that Bong Joon-ho, alongside directors like Denis Villeneuve and Quentin Tarantino, is one of the few directors who can draw film fans to theaters.
AP News added that since there are no major competitors for ‘Mickey 17’ in the near future, the studio is aiming for the “long game.” Competitive films like ‘Captain America: Brave New World,’ which was released nearly a month earlier, fell to second place, followed by ‘Last Breath,’ ‘The Monkey,’ and ‘Paddington in Peru.’
‘Mickey 17’ marks Bong Joon-ho’s return five years after his four-time Oscar-winning ‘Parasite,’ generating significant interest even in Hollywood. After its Oscar success, ‘Parasite’ notably climbed to fourth place in the North American box office, overcoming the language barrier.