Let's marvel again at the success of Parasite in US release, but this time in the context of Palme d'Or winners. Parasite is just one notch away from being the 10 highest grossing Cannes winner of all time (at least as far as contemporary box office reporting goes). It's already the most successful Palme d'Or winner of all time among the non-English language winners.
Box office figures aren't readily available before the 1970s so we started in 1970 -- there are a few winners since then with no US box office results which means they either weren't ever released in the US or were somehow not reported. It's also worth noting that these numbers are not adjusted for inflation so we're assuming that either MASH or Apocalypse Now which bookended the 1970s would actually top the list as the highest grossing Palme d'Or winner ever. Figures are only domestic (USA) totals.
TOP GROSSING PALME D'OR WINNERS IN THE U.S.
figures as of January 26th, 2020
- Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004) $119.1
- Pulp Fiction (1994) $107.9
- Apocalypse Now (1979) $83.4
- MASH (1970) $81.6...
- The Piano (1993) $40.1
- All That Jazz (1979) $37.8
- The Pianist (2002) $32.5
- 🔺 Parasite (2019) $30.9
- Taxi Driver (1976) $28.2
- sex, lies, and videotape (1989) $24.7
- The Mission (1986) $17.2
- Wild at Heart (1990) $14.5
- Missing (1982) $14
- Secrets & Lies (1996) $13.4
- The Tree of Life (2011) $13.3
- Amour (2012) $6.7
- Barton Fink (1991) $6.1
- Farewell My Concubine (1993) $5.2
- The Conversation (1974) $4.4
- Dancer in the Dark (2000) $4.1
- Kagemusha (1980) $4.0
- The Class (2008) $3.7
- Shoplifters (2018) $3.3
- The White Ribbon (2009) $2.2
- Blue is the Warmest Colour (2013) $2.1
- Paris, Texas (1984) $2.1
- Pelle the Conqueror (1987) $2.0
- The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006) $1.8
- The Square (2017) $1.5
- Elephant (2003) $1.2
- The Best Intentions (1992) $1.2
- 4 Months 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007) $1.1
- The Son's Room (2001) $1.0
- The Child (2005) $651k
- Man of Iron (1981) $492k
- The Eel (1997) $418k
- Rosetta (1999) $266k
- Dheepan (2015) $261k
- I Daniel Blake (2016) $260k
- Uncle Boonmee (2010) $184k
- Underground (1995) $171k
- Eternity and a Day (1998) $107k
- Under the Sun of Satan (1987) $68k
- When Father Was Away on Business (1985) $16k
Interesting list right? It's wild to be reminded that foreign language "hits" are usually like $1-$3 million... Parasite is aiming for $35 or so... Just incredible.