The votes are in: Parasite has been voted the best movie of the 21st century in a new poll from The New York Times.
Per the poll, Parasite sits at number one, with David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive at number 2, and There Will Be Blood at number 3, on a list of 100 movies. The black comedy thriller follows the members of the Kim family, who see an opportunity when their son starts working for the wealthy, elite Park family. One by one they each figure out how to work inside the household as well – and begin to live a parasitic life. The cast includes Song Kang-ho, Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Yeo-jeong, Choi Woo-shik, Park So-dam, Jang Hye-jin, Park Myung-hoon, and Lee Jung-eun,
Bong Joon Ho directs from a screenplay who co-wrote with Han Jin-won. The story is based on a play that Bong wrote back in 2013, which was inspired by the 1960 Korean drama The Housemaid, as well as the Christine and Lea Papin true crime story that occurred in the 1930s, which saw two French live-in maids murder their employer’s wife and daughter.
The film won the Palme d’Or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, and went on to win the 2020 Academy Award for Best Picture. In 2020, HBO announced that it was turning the movie into a TV series – with Bong confirming in February 2025 that TV adaptation is still, in fact, happening.
Parasite is streaming now on Hulu and Max. For more, check out our list of the most exciting upcoming movies in 2025 and beyond, or, check our list of movie release dates.
