LOS ANGELES — It was not a surprise that critics would love “Parasite,” the latest film from the acclaimed director Bong Joon Ho. But box-office success for this sometimes funny, sometimes horrifying Korean-language tale of economic inequality was no sure thing. Enter Tom Quinn, the head of Neon, a rising independent film distributor and production company.

Mr. Quinn, who had worked with Mr. Bong on four of his earlier movies, secured the North American distribution rights to “Parasite” on the strength of the script in October last year. He was there at the Cannes Film Festival in May, when the film received an eight-minute standing ovation and the festival’s highest award, the Palme d’Or. After returning home, Mr. Quinn saw it once more in a theater. He said he had cried through the ending.

That was months before a theatrical run that has defied assumptions about the entertainment industry at a time when streaming has threatened the cinematic experience and movies with superheroes are among the few surefire box-office bets.

Since rolling out internationally over the summer and in North American theaters last month, “Parasite” has grossed more than $114 million worldwide. Domestically, where it has played on 620 screens, it is still going strong, having earned more than $16 million. Mr. Bong, the director, said he appreciated working with someone like Mr. Quinn, an executive unjaded enough to weep in a movie theater.