Poster for Paradise Lost. <CJ ENM>
Yeon Sang-ho’s Paradise Lost has earned more than its net production budget of about 500 million won through presales to 118 countries and territories, all before its domestic release. The figures come from overseas sales results that distributor CJ ENM released on Oct. 19. That means the film earned back its production cost from international sales alone before it opened in Korean theaters. An official from CJ ENM’s international distribution team said the film’s story about the universal emotions of family and motherhood is “resonating across nationalities and cultures and drawing strong interest in overseas markets.”
Ryu So-young (Kim Hyun-joo) lost her son nine years ago when a camping school bus disappeared. Since then she has lived with a version of him re-created by an artificial intelligence (AI) program. Paradise Lost is a psychological thriller that follows So-young’s turmoil when her son, Ryu Seon-woo (Bae Hyun-sung), whom she believed dead, actually returns. The film opened in Korea on Oct. 21 and ranked No. 2 at the overall box office on its first day. On both Oct. 21 and 22, it drew the most daily admissions of any Korean film in theaters. By Oct. 25, the end of its first weekend, it had passed 100,000 cumulative admissions.
Paradise Lost is Yeon’s second low-budget feature after The Ugly (2025). A crew of about 20 completed it over 14 shooting days. The Ugly was made on a net production budget of about 200 million won and passed 1 million admissions in 2025. Yeon put its profits back into Paradise Lost and did not apply for separate independent film funding. He also kept spending on sets and props to a minimum.
Yeon said he reorganized how crew members are compensated, drawing on the trial and error of sharing profits with the crew of The Ugly. On casting the leads, he said, “If the project is good, well-known actors want to take part too.” On budgets, he said, “Production costs for Korean films have gone up too much. If you cut set costs, save substantially on art direction and get things like the profit-sharing structure in order, low-budget films have every chance of success.”
In September, Paradise Lost screened in the Special Presentations section of the 51st Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). All four official screenings, about 2,300 seats in total, sold out. It was Yeon’s second straight year in the section, following The Ugly in 2025. In October, all four of the film’s screenings in the Gala Presentation section of the 31st Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) also sold out.
Next, the film will screen twice in Hawaii, on Nov. 1 and 4 (local time), in a special Korean film showcase at the 46th Hawaii International Film Festival. These will be its first screenings for American audiences, following Toronto and Busan.
Sources
Etoday, “Yeon Sang-ho’s ‘Paradise Lost’ Presold to 118 Countries Before Release, Recoups 500 Million Won Budget,” 2026.10.19
Yonhap News Agency, “Yeon Sang-ho’s ‘Paradise Lost’ Sold to 118 Countries, Recoups Net Production Budget,” 2026.10.19
Segye Ilbo, “Yeon Sang-ho’s ‘Paradise Lost’ Recoups Budget Through Overseas Presales: The Potential of Low-Budget Film,” 2026.10.19
Seoul Shinmun, “Yeon Sang-ho: ‘What Makes Humans Human Is Imperfection’ — ‘Paradise Lost,’” 2026.10.19
Yonhap News Agency, “A Son Revived by AI vs. a Son Returned After Nine Years — Yeon Sang-ho’s ‘Paradise Lost,’” 2026.10.13
Segye Ilbo, “Yeon Sang-ho’s New Film ‘Paradise Lost’ Heads to Toronto, Invited for Second Straight Year,” 2026.07.21
Money Today, “‘Chiikawa’ Tops Weekend Box Office for Third Straight Week; ‘The Assassin(s)’ and ‘Paradise Lost’ in Close Race [Box Office],” 2026.10.26
