Park Chan-wook’s “No Other Choice” Tops 15 Billion Won in North American Box Office, Quadrupling “Oldboy”

Director Park Chan-wook’s film “No Other Choice” has surpassed 10 million dollars (approximately 14.45 billion won) in box office revenue in North America. This marks the highest North American gross among all of Park’s films.
According to CJ ENM on the 3rd, the film opened in select North American theaters on December 25 last year and gradually expanded its run through word of mouth. In its fourth week, on January 16, it widened its release to 695 theaters and, on the same day, ranked ninth at the North American box office, signaling its strong presence.
On February 28, its cumulative North American box office revenue went on to exceed 10 million dollars. This is more than four times the 2.4 million dollars earned by Park Chan-wook’s previous best-performing film in North America, “Oldboy.”
A representative from CJ ENM’s overseas distribution team stated, “In a situation where non-English-language films still face significant barriers to entering the North American market, this achievement once again proves the global growth potential of Korean cinema.” The representative added, “The audience base has expanded beyond existing film fans to general moviegoers, and spontaneous reviews and social networking service (SNS) posts after viewing are driving word of mouth and supporting a long theatrical run.”
“No Other Choice” follows Man-su (played by Lee Byung-hun), an office worker who believes he has achieved everything he wanted, but after being suddenly laid off, throws himself into the job market again to protect his family and home.
Among Korean films released in North America, the all-time highest box office record is held by “The King of Kings” (2025), which earned about 83.22 million dollars. It is followed by the Academy Award Best Picture winner “Parasite” (2019), which achieved a strong result of around 53.7 million dollars.
jashin@fnnews.com Shin Jin-a Reporter