‘Parasite’ is Getting an IMAX Re-Release Five Years After Winning Multiple Oscars

Parasite is returning to the big screen, this time in IMAX format. Bong Joon-ho’s thrilling modern masterpiece from 2019 is celebrating the fifth anniversary of winning Best Picture and sweeping the Oscars with a special re-release.

With studios having success with the recent re-releases of Interstellar and Se7en, it’s easy to see why there is a certain interest in re-leasing legacy titles, especially around a milestone anniversary. With box office performance constantly evolving, it has become clear that there is room for something familiar to be successful again, and that is doubly true when you factor in a premium format like IMAX.

The official X page for IMAX posted that Parasite will be returning to the big screen on Feb. 7. Their post reads, “Don’t get kicked down the stairs on your way to the IMAX exclusive re-release of Parasite. Tickets on sale now,” followed by this link to purchase tickets. The timing is perfect for a few reasons as it celebrates the fifth anniversary of Parasite sweeping the Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director for Joon-ho. The re-release also occurs a few days before his next film, Mickey 17, has its London premiere on Feb. 13.

Directed by Joon-ho from a screenplay he co-wrote with Han Jin-won, Parasite follows a poor family who becomes entangled in the wife of a very rich family with disastrous results. The film stars Song Kang-ho Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Yeo-jeong, Choi Woo-shik, Park So-dam, Jang Hye-jin, Park Myung-hoon, and Lee Jung-eun. The story is based on a play that Joon-ho began writing back in 2013 that he later adapted into a film. It currently has a near-perfect 99% score at Rotten Tomatoes.

Parasite Had a Historic Awards Season Run

Parasite’s awards season run was historic five years ago. The film was an immediate favorite in many major categories, and it lived up to that promise at several award ceremonies. Its good fortune actually began in 2019 at the Cannes Film Festival, where it became the first Korean film to win the Palme d’Or.

Then, the movie went on to win the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film and the BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language. In addition, it became the first non-English-language movie to win the SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. This was then capped off by winning four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, where it became the first non-English-language film to do so.

The Ending of Parasite, Explained

Parasite is full of twists and turns, but that brutal ending has left a knot in many viewers’ stomachs since its premiere in 2019.

The film scored with critics and audiences alike, registering a 99 percent on Rotten Tomatoes with a consensus that reads, “An urgent, brilliantly layered look at timely social themes, Parasite finds writer-director Bong Joon Ho in near-total command of his craft.” The film also became a domestic and international hit, grossing $53.4 million domestically and a staggering $262.1 million worldwide on an $11.4 million production budget.

Parasite returns to theaters in IMAX on Feb. 7.