Chart Chat: Regional films make an impression at the local box office

THIS week has been a great week for Asian films at the local box office. Despite blockbuster film X-Men: Apocalypse dominating the box office over the weekend, raking in an estimated RM4 million in Malaysia after being screened at 137 screens throughout the country.

The highest charting non-Hollywood release is Tamil romantic comedy Idhu Namma Aalu come in at #3, with approximately RM820,000 over the week. Written and directed by Pandiraj, the film features Tamil superstars Silambarasan, Nayantara and Andrea Jeremiah in lead roles, while Soori and Jayaprakash round up the cast. Produced by T. Rajender, Idhu Namma Aalu also features music by Silambarasan’s younger brother Kuralarasan and was released on 27t May 2016 to generally positive reception.

Thai horror film Take Me Home (#4) made an estimated RM440,000 during it’s opening week here even though it only had 60 screens in the country. It’s directed by one of Thailand’s most acclaimed filmmakers, Kongkiat Khomsiri (Art of the Devil 2, Gangster, Slice) and is led by Thai superstar Mario Maurer (Pee Mak, A Little Thing Called Love).

Two other notable releases that made it into the Top 10 include another Thai horror title, I Can See Ghost, while the 36th film in the Doraemon franchise takes the #9 spot. Doraemon The Movie: Nobita And The Birth Of Japan grossed approximately RM130,000 locally.

Elsewhere on the charts, Indonesian comedy My Stupid Boss which features both local and Indonesian talents such as Reza Rahadian, Alex Abbad and Bront Palarae saw an estimated RM60,000 in its second week for a total of RM320,000 after two weeks in cinemas. With 37 screens left to its name, this might be your last week to catch it in cinemas.

Meanwhile romantic blockbuster Ada Apa Dengan Cinta 2 manages to maintain it’s place in the Top 20 for one more week, raking in an estimated RM16,000 over the weekend and amassing RM4.8 million overall.