KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 18 — Malaysian cinema audiences appear to be turning increasingly towards homegrown stories, with local films attracting more admissions than Hollywood titles so far this year.
Figures released by the National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (Finas) on its social media accounts yesterday showed that local films recorded 7.55 million admissions through July, compared with 6.94 million for Hollywood releases.
The figures offer a telling snapshot of how Malaysian productions are performing at the domestic box office, particularly as several homegrown titles have also emerged as commercial hits this year.
Five local films clear RM10 million
Five Malaysian films have hit or surpassed the RM10 million mark so far.
They are Razaisyam Rashid’s Tarung: Unforgiven, which has grossed RM20.6 million; Zulkarnain Azhar’s Polong with RM15 million; Bobby Husaini’s Libang Libu with RM14.1 million; Nazifdin Nasrudin’s Malaikat Malam with RM12.2 million; and Matt Lai’s Ah Beng vs Liang Po Po, which has taken RM10 million.
Beyond the headline grosses, Malaysian films have also repeatedly reached the top of the local box-office chart, holding the No. 1 spot for several weeks and outperforming established international releases including Mortal Kombat II and Michael.
The trend is not entirely unexpected.
In previous interviews, Finas chief executive officer Datuk Azmir Saifuddin Mutalib said the reception towards Malaysian films had become increasingly encouraging, following a strong period for the domestic industry in which several productions recorded significant box-office success.
He said five to six local films had surpassed the RM10 million mark this year, pointing to growing public interest in homegrown productions.
“A new trend we are seeing is that more and more Malaysians are choosing to watch local films,” he told local media.
The latest Finas figures appear to support that observation, with Malaysian productions not only producing several strong box-office performers but also drawing more cinema admissions than Hollywood films during the first seven months of the year.
More Malaysian titles on the way
There is still plenty of local content waiting in the wings.
Among the films due in cinemas later this year are Adrian Teh’s action crime thriller Chelot; Terbang, which tells the real-life story of legendary Malaysian rally driver Karamjit Singh; Baga: Tomorrow Belongs To No One, a crime drama directed by Ariff Zulkarnain; Takluk 2: Op Daulat, the sequel to Takluk: Lahad Datu; and Kudrat 1968, a prequel to the hit series Project: High Council.
Whether those upcoming titles can match the box-office performances of this year’s current standouts remains to be seen.
For now, however, the numbers point to something increasingly difficult to ignore: Malaysian audiences are turning up for Malaysian stories.
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