‘Parasite’ tops NYT readers’ poll as best film of the 21st century

Jul 04, 2025, 10:42 am

Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite has been named the greatest film of the 21st century by readers of The New York Times. This follows its earlier victory in a similar survey conducted among filmmakers, actors, and producers, affirming the film’s status as a cinematic masterpiece embraced by both industry professionals and the public.

On July 2, The New York Times revealed the results of a poll involving over 200,000 readers, where Bong’s 2019 Oscar-winning thriller took the top spot. In addition to Parasite, three other Korean films made the list: Memories of Murder by Bong Joon-ho ranked 49th, while Park Chan-wook’s Oldboy and The Handmaiden placed 40th and 67th, respectively.

Coming in second and third were David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive and the Coen Brothers’ No Country for Old Men. Other top-ranked films included Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood and Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar.

The NYT noted that both Oldboy and Memories of Murder ranked higher in the readers’ poll than in the previous industry survey, where they had placed 43rd and 99th, respectively.

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