HOPE: NEON Brings South Korean Sci-Fi Thriller To US Cinemas in September

Source: NEON

Official Site: https://www.neonrated.com/film/hope

Special Thanks to Courtney Ott

The South Korean science fiction thriller HOPE (호프, Hopeu) will be released theatrically in the United States and other English-speaking territories by NEON starting this Wednesday, April 10. The film was written and directed by Na Hong-jin, the filmmaker behind the acclaimed horror film THE WAILING (곡성, Gokseong, 2016).

Story

In the remote South Korea village of Hope Harbor, police chief Bum-seok (Hwang Jung- min) and officer Sung-ae (Hoyeon) are called to find a mysterious creature that has wreaked havoc on the village.

In the nearby forest, a coterie of hunters, including Sung- ki (Zo In-Sung) set out to track the beast and find themselves hunted instead. But all is not as it seems, and perceptions can be misleading.

What begins as ignorance plants the seed of disaster, escalating through human conflict into a tragedy of cosmic proportions.

Details

CAST
Bum-seok: Hwang Jung-Min
Sung-ki: Zo In-Sung
Sung-ae: Hoyeon
Ma’veyyo: Michael Fassbender
J’aur: Alicia Vikander
Ai’dovor: Taylor Russell
Va’migere: Cameron Britton

STAFF
Director: Na Hong-jin
Screenplay: Na Hong-jin
Cinematographer: Kyung-Pyo Hong
Animation: Hanjoon Kim
Production Design: Hwokyoung Lee
Music: Michael Abels
Editor: Sunmin Kim
Sound: Changsub Kim

About NEON

In only eight years, NEON has garnered 39 Academy Award® nominations (7 this year), 11 total wins (5 this year), including two Best Picture wins, and has grossed over $400M at the box office. The company continues to push boundaries and take creative risks on bold cinema such as Sean Baker’s ANORA, which recently took home five Academy Awards including Best Picture, and was released in theaters to the highest per-screen average of 2024; as well as Bong Joon Ho’s PARASITE, which made history winning four Academy Awards,, becoming the first non-English-language film to claim Best Picture, and grossed over $54M at the domestic box office.

NEON has built an impressive streak winning the coveted Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, with six consecutive wins, including ANORA and PARASITE, as well as ANATOMY OF A FALL, TITANE, and TRIANGLE OF SADNESS. In 2024, NEON was named The Hollywood Reporter’s Independent Studio of the Year and received the Clio Award for Studio of the Year.

Recent NEON releases include Osgood Perkins’ horror film THE MONKEY which is based on the short story by Stephen King and marked NEON’s second biggest opening weekend at the box office following Perkins’ LONGLEGS, which is the highest grossing independent film of 2024 at $75 million domestically.

As a burgeoning leader in the production space, NEON’s recent and upcoming in-house productions include: David Robert Mitchell’s THEY FOLLOW starring Maika Monroe; Michael Covino’s SPLITSVILLE starring Dakota Johnson and Adria Arjona; the highly anticipated Boots Riley feature I LOVE BOOSTERS starring Keke Palmer, Naomi Ackie, LaKeith Stanfield, Demi Moore, and Eiza González; THE WRONG GIRLS starring Kristen Stewart and Alia Shawkat; Tilman Singer’s CUCKOO starring Hunter Schafer; and Brandon Cronenberg’s INFINITY POOL. NEON’s international sales outfit handles the company’s in-house titles as well as third party projects.