Hulu has scored big by acquiring the exclusive U.S. streaming rights to Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite.” The critically acclaimed film made history earlier this month when it became the first foreign-language film to win best picture at the Academy Awards. “Parasite” will be available on the streaming service beginning April 8.
According to Variety, “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.”
The film is a thriller/dark comedy that chronicles the life of an impoverished South Korean family as they pretend to be qualified professionals in order to gain long-term employment by a wealthy family. “Parasite” was co-written and directed by Bong. (He collaborated with Jin Won Han on the screenplay). The film won four Oscars at this year’s ceremony — best picture, international film, best director and original screenplay.
Earlier this month, the Disney-owned streamer announced in their Q1 2020 earnings report that they added 7.6 million new members since the end of 2018 and was at 30.4 million subscribers at the end of 2019 — including 3.2 million Hulu Live TV subscribers.
On their earnings call, Disney CEO, Bob Iger said Hulu reached 30.7 million subscribers and the company expects to expand Hulu internationally in 2021.