In February 2016 , CJ Entertainment announced that '' The Handmaiden '' was pre-sold to 116 countries , including to Amazon Studios for the US . The film premiered in competition at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival , where it received a standing ovation , and Ryu Seong-hee won the Vulcan Award of the Technical Artist for her art direction work on the film . The film was also screened in the Special Presentations section of the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival , where '' The Playlist '' named it as one of the 15 best films of the festival . In South Korea , the film was released on 1 June 2016 and sold more than 4 million tickets
2016 Cannes Film Festival
2016 Cannes Film Festival
The Handmaiden