One of the coolest movies I managed to catch at the Cannes Film Festival this year was definitely Na Hong-jin’s Hope (check out my review here). A wild take on the alien invasion genre (well, kinda), it absolutely rocked the house, bringing some much-needed carnage to La Croisette, with some of the boldest, practically shot action scenes since Mad Max: Fury Road. Now, on the back of its successful Cannes debut, Neon, which snapped up domestic distribution rights before Cannes, has set a September 9th release date for the film in North America. It comes out in South Korea this summer.
In Hope, the police chief (Hwang Jung-min) of a small village near the DMZ has to contend with a group of creatures wreaking havoc. Along with a rookie officer (Hoyeon) and a hunter (Zo In-sung), he discovers the threat tearing his town apart might be otherworldly. Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander, and Taylor Russell co-star.
I’m a bit puzzled by the release date, with it oddly getting a Wednesday release immediately after Labor Day. One wonders if it’s going to get a wide release, as that weekend also sees the opening of Warner Bros.’ Practical Magic 2. Hopefully it does, as Hope plays like a summer blockbuster, and considering how popular Korean music and TV have become in recent years, this has the potential to become a breakout hit.
I think they’re making a mistake by not going wide in the last two weeks of August, which are typically light in terms of new movies and would give it a nice theatrical foothold. But then again, it’s Neon, and no one can say they don’t know what they’re doing when it comes to specialty releases.
Hopefully audiences get out and see it, and if they’re wise, Neon will take it to some of the genre fests coming up this summer, like Comic-Con in San Diego and Fantasia in Montreal.
Are you looking forward to seeing Hope? Let us know in the comments.
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