Director Na Hong-jin. [Herald Muse]
Director Na Hong-jin. [Herald Muse]

Director Na Hong-jin has been ranked 27th on The Hollywood Reporter's list of the 30 most influential genre filmmakers of 2026.

The Hollywood Reporter published the rankings Wednesday (local time), based on box office performance and cultural impact. The outlet described Na as "a Korean master who has built an international fan base spanning arthouse devotees to action fans."

Zak Kreiger topped the list, followed by Ryan Coogler at No. 2 and Guillermo del Toro at No. 3.

Na told The Hollywood Reporter that his most memorable audience reaction came at a screening of "The Yellow Sea," recalling a long take in which the dead protagonist is cast adrift in a dark sea. "Everyone was watching in silence when someone boldly started clapping," he said.

"A rough-looking middle-aged man with a red face and a potbelly stood up alone and kept clapping, shouting in dialect, 'This film is killer! It's all about obsession! Obsession!'" Na said, calling it "the most lasting scene I've witnessed in my life."

Na also said the films his parents forbade him from watching as a child were Japanese, noting that "at the time there were legal restrictions on the domestic introduction of Japanese culture."

The Hollywood Reporter noted that "Hope" marks the first of Na's films to receive wide distribution in the United States. It opens in North America on Wednesday.

"Hope," which opened domestically on July 15, follows Beom-seok (played by Hwang Jung-min), the head of a remote outpost near the demilitarized zone, who is thrown into a village-wide crisis after local youths report a tiger sighting — only to confront a reality that is hard to believe.


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