Director Park Chan-wook's film "No Other Choice" opened early on Dec. 25, Christmas Day, in five U.S. cities.
Neon, the U.S. distributor of "No Other Choice," said on its website and social media on the day that "a masterpiece of cinema, Park Chan-wook's 'No Other Choice' (English title No Other Choice) is playing in select theaters," adding that it will be shown "Everywhere January" in January.
According to a poster posted by Neon, the early-release cities are Austin, Texas; Chicago; Los Angeles (LA); New York; and San Francisco.
Right after it premiered at the Venice International Film Festival at the end of August, the film received perfect scores from about 10 Rotten Tomatoes critics, and it has continued to draw praise from major outlets after U.S. screenings.
Hollywood outlet Deadline introduced "No Other Choice" as one of the low-budget, independent films opening in the United States on Christmas, noting that after its unveiling at the Venice International Film Festival, it won the People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival and Park Chan-wook won the directing award at the Sitges Film Festival.
"No Other Choice" was also among the 15 films named to the shortlist for the international feature category at the Academy Awards (Oscars) announced on the 16th.