‘Hope’ Just Gave NEON Its Biggest International Opening Ever, and It’s Not Slowing Down

NEON has built its reputation as one of the industry’s most trusted homes for boundary-pushing international cinema, a legacy cemented back in 2019 when the studio helped ‘Parasite’ become the first non-English-language film ever to win Best Picture. That history made the distributor a natural fit for Na Hong-jin’s long-awaited return to filmmaking, a director whose cult status has only grown since 2016’s ‘The Wailing.’

That anticipation reached a fever pitch at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, where Na’s sci-fi creature feature ‘Hope’ premiered to a lengthy standing ovation and sharply divided critical reaction. The film went on to shatter records back home in South Korea over the summer, becoming the country’s biggest opening of 2026 and reportedly the most expensive Korean production ever made.

Now, that momentum has carried straight into the film’s U.S. release. ‘Hope’ has delivered NEON’s biggest international box office debut to date, while also becoming the widest domestic opening for a Korean-language film since ‘Parasite’ itself launched the studio’s Oscar-winning run.

According to early tracking, the film pulled in a strong $5 million over its five-day opening despite playing in just 1,560 theaters, averaging a rare $3,200 per theater for an international release on a wide platform. That kind of per-theater performance is especially notable given how few foreign-language titles ever attempt anything close to a mainstream, nationwide rollout in the U.S.

That wide release strategy itself marked a significant departure from how NEON originally handled ‘Parasite,’ which opened in just three theaters back in 2019 before gradually expanding. ‘Hope,’ by contrast, launched directly into roughly 1,500 U.S. theaters on September 9, a bet that appears to have paid off given the film’s strong per-screen numbers.

#NEON keeps earning dividends for believing in #NaHongJin’s sci-fi thriller #HOPE, one of the buzziest festival darlings out of #Cannes, and giving it widest release for a Korean film at US #BoxOffice! #HOPE grossed STRONG 5M on 5-day Opening, despite playing over just 1.560 theatres. A rare $3.2k average per theatre for an international film on a wide release! That’s the biggest opening for a Korean film domestically, and the biggest debut for international films distributed by NEON!

— Luiz Fernando (@Luiz_Fernando_J) September 13, 2026

Much like its reception at Cannes, critical response to ‘Hope’ stateside has remained genuinely divided. The Hollywood Reporter’s chief film critic David Rooney landed firmly on the positive side, describing it as a “rip-roaring sci-fi creature feature” that has “instant cult classic written all over it,” he wrote in his festival review.

That kind of enthusiastic reception, paired with the film’s genuinely strong opening numbers, suggests ‘Hope’ is resonating with exactly the kind of genre-hungry audience NEON was betting on when it committed to such an ambitious theatrical footprint. The film’s premise, following a remote coastal village terrorized by a mysterious creature, has clearly translated well beyond its original Korean audience.

HOPE is coming.

Experience it in theaters starting Wednesday. Get tickets now: https://t.co/2iWb0XHJN8 pic.twitter.com/GtaG8gw3gi

— NEON (@neonrated) September 7, 2026

Na has already hinted that ‘Hope’ could be just the beginning of something bigger, previously revealing that a sequel script already exists and that he’d love the opportunity to continue the story if given the chance. Given how strongly the film has performed both in Korea and now in its U.S. debut, that possibility feels increasingly realistic rather than wishful thinking.

For NEON, ‘Hope’s’ opening represents a genuine validation of its continued investment in Korean cinema, proving that audiences are willing to show up in large numbers for ambitious, wide-release international titles when given the chance. Whether the film can sustain that momentum in the weeks ahead remains to be seen, but its opening alone has already rewritten expectations for what a Korean-language release can achieve at the American box office.

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