A tiny South Korean hedge fund hit the jackpot when it made a long-shot investment in the surprise Oscar-winning movie “Parasite,” according to a report Wednesday.
Parasite by Bong Joon Ho cost $11 million to make, peanuts by Hollywood standards and has already earned $165 million at the box office.
The South Koren film “Parasite” won best picture at the 2020 Oscar awards, its fourth gong of the night. It also took home best director for Bong Joon-ho, (best international feature film and best original screenplay), doing better than expected. The win makes Parasite the first ever foreign-language film in the ceremony’s 92-year history to take the top prize.
The Seoul-based fund Ryukyung PSG Asset Management Inc. plunked down $500,000 to help bank-roll the genre-bending satirical thriller. It is poised to rake in millions after the award, according to Bloomberg News.
The flick became the first non-English-language film to ever to win an Academy Award for best picture Sunday. As a result, sending box office sales soaring. The movie earned $539,000 on Monday, a 24 percent post-Oscars spike. The fund, only invests in movies distributed by Korea’s CJ Group.
However, it has returned more than 72 percent for investors since its launch in July 2018. The company has also profited from other Korean films including “Extreme Job” and “Exit.”