Is the Malaysian film industry at its peak? Despite milestones and new box office records, the best is yet to come

Malay Mail

2 days ago

KUALA LUMPUR, June 3 — It has been five years since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, a global crisis that claimed millions of lives and sent shockwaves through the world economy.
Few industries were spared and among those hardest hits was the film industry. Many productions were either delayed, suspended or even shelved entirely. Cinemas weren't even allowed to operate in order to curb the spread of the virus.
In Malaysia, the situation is much the same. Although the local film industry is still recuperating and regaining momentum toward its pre-pandemic levels, records from the past few years indicate a bright future — if the trend continues, of course.
Local feature film box office trends over the past eight years
According to data from the National Film Development Corporation (Finas), box office collections for local feature films under the Skim Wajib Tayang (Compulsory Screening Scheme) between 2017 and 2024 revealed a significant dip during the pandemic years.
The lowest total box office revenue was recorded in 2021 at just RM1.1 million, followed by 2020 with RM16.2 million — the second lowest in the eight-year period.
The poor performance was largely due to the Movement Control Order (MCO) implemented during that period, which required cinemas to temporarily cease operations. Although they were later allowed to reopen, they operated at limited capacity.
However, the data also showed that 2022 marked a remarkable rebound, with the highest total box office collection recorded at RM196.4 million. This surge was driven in part by Syamsul Yusof's historical epic Mat Kilau: Kebangkitan Pahlawan, which grossed over RM89 million at the local box office, making it the highest-grossing local film of all time.
While box office figures in the past couple of years have yet to surpass the pre-pandemic highs of 2018 and 2019, the numbers suggest that local filmmakers and industry players are steadily regaining ground.
Breaking barriers
Speaking to Malay Mail, local director and actor Kash Villanz said that 2024 has been a breakthrough year for the Malaysian Tamil scene, with local Tamil films taking the top three spots as the highest-grossing Tamil films in the country.
The three films are the romantic comedy C4 Cinta, which grossed over RM2.4 million, followed by Havoc Film Production's Kathe Ille Pathukalam with over RM600,000, and Kash's own horror-comedy Oru Kadha Sollattaa Sir, which brought in more than RM300,000 at the box office.
Malaysian film director and actor Kash Vilanz said that 2024 has proven to be a significant year for local Tamil films. — Picture by Choo Choy May
Kash noted that, ironically, the Covid-19 pandemic played a role in revitalising the local film industry — particularly with the rise of over-the-top (OTT) platforms such as Netflix and Prime Video, which gave filmmakers new avenues to reach audiences.
'Post-Covid, streaming platforms like Netflix and Prime Video saw a huge rise in popularity, in fact, huge numbers of OTT platforms emerged during that period, opening new doors for filmmakers.
'Before Covid-19, the focus was entirely on cinema, which offered a limited path for profit, but now, filmmakers can sell digital rights not only to local OTT platforms but international ones as well — giving our stories a broader reach and better revenue opportunities.
'In short, the industry has expanded beyond cinema, tapping into global digital markets and creating space for Malaysian content to thrive on the world stage,' Kash said.
He also pointed out that the emergence of digital platforms has also made it easier for local Tamil films to break into India's Tamil cinema market — better known as Kollywood — compared to 20 years ago.
According to him, improvements in local cinematography, storytelling and overall production quality are some of the reasons why Kollywood has started to take notice of local talents.
This trend isn't just limited to Tamil films. Several local Chinese-language productions have also been making waves internationally — most notably, Jin Ong's 2023 film Abang Adik.
The film has grossed RM5.7 million in Malaysia, while making HK$2.8 million (RM1.6 million) in Hong Kong, TW$100 million (RM13.6 million) in Taiwan, and RMB3 million (RM1.8 million) in China.
Unlike other countries, the Malaysian film industry features a diverse range of films in multiple ethnic languages — including Bahasa Malaysia, Mandarin, and Tamil — with the occasional addition of other Chinese dialects such as Cantonese and Hokkien.
Kash added that these multicultural elements are the reason why the Malaysian film industry is unique as every culture brings their own stories and creative style to the table and he believes that the key to the market lies with building strong support from audiences across all communities.
'A great example is the 2011's KL Gangster, it wasn't just successful because of its content, but because it received support from all races — Malay, Chinese, and Indian — and that kind of unity in support is what really strengthens the local film industry.
'It's perfectly fine for films to exist in different languages, but the key is for audiences to go beyond just supporting their own language-based films.
'If Malaysians came together to support all local films — Malay, Chinese, and Indian — our industry would grow much stronger,' Kash said.
No shortages in local animations
Meanwhile, another powerhouse in the local film industry is the animation sector, with three local animated films currently occupying spots in the top 10 highest-grossing films in Malaysia.
One of which is the 2019 animated spy action film Ejen Ali: The Movie by WAU Animation which grossed over RM30.05 million at local box office and has also bagged numerous awards including for Best Direction (Fiction) at the 2020 Asian Academy Creative Awards.
2019 is also often described as 'The Year of Malaysian Animations', as, aside from Ejen Ali, two other local animated films made their mark at the local box office — BoBoiBoy Movie 2 and Upin & Ipin: Keris Siamang Tunggal.
WAU Animation's founder and director, Muhammad Usamah Zaid Yasin for one, is optimistic about the future of local animation — largely due to several factors, the most significant being the increased number of cinemas in Malaysia.
As of 2023, there are a total of 146 cinemas nationwide with a total of 1,116 screens and 174,328 seats.
Usamah also noted that Malaysia is witnessing a new generation of properly trained filmmakers, thanks to the wide range of multimedia and film courses now offered at local universities — unlike previous generations, who largely had to rely on hands-on experience.
The 42-year-old admitted that while there are instances of brain drain in the local animation industry — with some talents migrating overseas to work on high-profile projects — he believes the situation remains fairly balanced.
This is because more local studios are opening up, and there is also an increase in international studios setting up operations in Malaysia, offering better salaries and facilities to local talent.
'If you ask me what's next or what the best of Malaysian content could be, I'm always hopeful, I think the new generation is being exposed to better content than what we have grown up with.
'I'm hopeful that a new wave of talent will emerge — people we can eventually pass the torch to, and even if it's not our children directly, maybe there are kids out there now who are watching our work and getting inspired by what we do.
'When it comes to competitiveness with other countries — whether in South-east Asia or across Asia — I believe the strongest products are the ones that embrace their own uniqueness and find their own voice,' Usamah said.
Same old problems
Despite setting new box office records and the emergence of fresh local talent, the Malaysian film industry still struggles with professionalism — particularly in filmmaking, where actors and crew members are often underappreciated, and basic workers' rights remain unfulfilled.
Veteran Malaysian actor and producer Chew Kin Wah, who has been in the industry for over 30 years, was surprised to learn he had to bring his own wardrobe for a local film shot in Ijok recently.
Veteran Malaysian actor and producer Chew Kin Wah hopes the film industry will continue to progress. — Picture by Raymond Manuel
More concerning, Chew — who has set a maximum limit of 12 working hours for any project he takes on — said that, more often than not, local production houses fail to adhere to his simple conditions.
He also highlighted the ongoing issue of the lack of formal contracts between actors and production houses, which remains a common practice in the local industry.
'They would normally give out projects just through word of mouth without any black and white documentation.
'Representatives from the production house would just text me the call time, location and my scenes, that's all,' he said.
However, the 60-year-old, who is also currently making waves in Indonesia, welcomed Finas' recent announcement that production crews and creative industry workers will now be provided with their own Employees Provident Fund (EPF) accounts — with the first 1,000 i-Saraan accounts sponsored by Finas.
'I welcome this initiative and hope that the progress will continue to guilds and unions where all creative workers will have a voice and we don't need to beg for help anymore.
'Such as the recent case where Finas had to pull a movie from being screened after learning that the production crews were not fully paid,' Chew said.
Cases of production workers not being paid are definitely nothing new in the local film industry.
According to veteran freelance cinematographer Stephen Chua, who has worked in both Malaysia and China, serving in roles from director of photography (DP) to head DP, production crew salaries in Malaysia are typically distributed by the head DP to the respective departments.
Malaysian cinematographer Stephen Chua (in shorts) on set for a Chinese epic drama shoot in China. — Picture courtesy of Stephen Chua
However, the Kahar: Kapla High Council's cinematographer points out the flaw of this method.
'What if at that time the DP needs money? It's not fair to the rest of his crew.
'That's why when I came back from China, I would tell local production houses to prepare contracts for each department and pay the salaries according to the departments and I wouldn't have to worry about others' salaries,' Chua said.
Chua, whose team would normally consist of up to 11 people which includes gaffer, grip and video tape recorder (VTR), said that even he himself has experienced late payments.
'I've never experienced not getting paid before but I do have experience with late payments sometimes but for certain companies, I understand the payment process sometimes takes time.
'This one time, I had to wait for two months for my salary because I told the production company to pay all my crews first, then only me.
'These kinds of companies who kept skipping or delaying their crew's payments for me are production houses that don't know how to make films — because they don't even know how to manage money,' Chua said.
He added that he has had his fair share of experiences working long hours, and similarly to Chew, Chua is also ensuring his crew does not work more than 12 hours, with any additional hours considered overtime.
However, Chua pointed out that this situation only occurs with certain local production houses, and that the local film industry ecosystem is improving, with many young talents having the heart for the work they put in.