Neon Schedules One-Night Premium Screenings for Na Hong-jin’s Hope

The Sept. 7 premium-format event is designed to build word-of-mouth and showcase the film’s scale before its wide U.S. release on Sept. 9.

Overview

Neon announced on Friday that Hope will play at 175 premium large-format locations on Sept. 7 in formats such as Dolby Cinema, 4DX, ScreenX, Barco HDR, D-Box and Dolby Atmos.
The early-access event precedes the film’s nationwide U.S. release on Sept. 9 and mirrors Neon’s prior strategy of using premium screenings to jump-start box-office momentum.
Hope is a genre epic from acclaimed director Na Hong-jin starring Hwang Jung-min and Hoyeon with supporting roles from Zo In-sung, Taylor Russell, Cameron Britton, Alicia Vikander and Michael Fassbender.
The rollout builds on strong early buzz from its Cannes premiere in May, $35 million in South Korean ticket sales since a July 15 opening, and reported pre-sales to roughly 200 territories that recouped a large share of production costs.
If the premium event drives early word-of-mouth as Neon expects, the move could widen Hope’s commercial reach in the U.S. and strengthen prospects for the director’s planned franchise follow-ups.