Oscar-winning filmmaker Bong Joon Ho first released one of cinema history’s most revered monster movies two decades ago in 2006. In honor of its 20th anniversary, the film is heading back to the big screen with an all-new 4K remastered version.
Magnolia Pictures announced this week that a new 4K restoration of The Host will debut in theaters across the United States on Nov. 20, 2026. The special 20th anniversary screening will include new footage of Bong Joon Ho reflecting on The Host after two decades. When it was released in theaters originally, it made nearly $100 million against a budget of around $11 million. It is still one of South Korea’s highest-grossing film releases ever and won many major accolades, including the inaugural Asian Film Award for Best Film.
The Host Is Back Looking Better Than Ever
“I’m also very glad that the 4K remastered version of the film will be playing in North American theaters, which will provide higher visual quality,” Bong said of the movie’s theatrical return. “20 years may have passed, but I believe the human emotions that well up in the film remain as relevant as ever. And I hope the audience feels those emotions as well.”
Bong directed The Host after co-writing the script with Ha Joon-won and Baek Chul-hyun. It stars Song Kang-ho, Byun Hee-bong, Park Hae-il, Bae Doona, and Go Ah-sung.
The film blends elements of horror, sci-fi, and dark comedy. It centers on the Park family, including patriarch Park Gang-du, an aimless man who works at his father’s snack bar, as a monstrous creature emerges from the river and starts attacking humans. The monster snatches away Gang-du’s young daughter, and her family sets out on a rescue mission to find her. As the dysfunctional family tries to survive, the authorities struggle to figure out how to deal with the creature.
Quentin Tarantino Says The Host Is a Masterpiece
On Rotten Tomatoes, The Host has has been highly praised with an approval rating of 93%, among the highest that’s ever been given to a monster movie. Among the show’s fans is Quentin Tarantino, who once included The Host in a list of his top 20 favorite films. The Pulp Fiction helmer said he was “blown away” by Bong’s work on the movie, which he labeled a “masterpiece.” Tarantino compared it to Steven Spielberg in his prime when he directed Jaws, one of the most beloved and successful creature features ever made.
“Of all the filmmakers out there in the last 20 years, he has something that [1970s] Spielberg has,” Tarantino said at the Busan International Film Festival in 2013, per THR. “There is this level of entertainment and comedy in his films… It’s funny because the whole idea that a family, not just any family, but a weird, f—ed up family like in The Host would be the stars is unfathomable in the U.S., or any country. That is recreating the genre.”
The Host will be back in theaters for its 20th anniversary screenings starting on Nov. 20, 2026.
