South Korean director Kim Ki-duk said on Monday he will finish screening his internationally acclaimed film “Pieta” in South Korea by early next month to give more opportunities to other low-budget films as it has already drawn a large audience.

“My infinitely dismal film ‘Pieta’ topped the 500,000 mark in audience members last weekend,” Kim said in an open letter sent through the film‘s local promotion company to his fans.

“For me, the movie is as successful as a movie that obtained more than 5 million viewers,” he said, expressing thanks to those who came to see his latest work.

The break-even point of the low-budget art house film about a ruthless young debt collector who is visited by a mysterious woman who claims to be his long-lost mother was 250,000, according to the director. For commercial films, a movie with ticket sales of 4 million is considered a box office success in the country.

The audience figure for “Pieta” jumped by more than three times after it won the Golden Lion Award for best film at the Venice International Film Festival early this month.

Kim said the fact that so many people from different age groups watched his movie even though it is not a commercial film means a lot.

The director-writer then vowed to finish screening the movie at all movie theaters in the country on Oct. 3, the fourth week since opening, through discussions with its distributor, to allow other low-budget films to be shown.

“I sincerely hope other small films will get chances to be screened in place of mine,” Kim added. 

(Yonhap News)