Thousands of videos on social media have viewers walking out of cinema halls in Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore with tears in their eyes.
The latest Thai hit - "How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies" - has brought viewers in Southeast Asia to tears and broken records, the Guardian reported.
The film tells the story of a university dropout who offers to look after his terminally ill grandmother in the hope of inheriting her house. The production earned 334 million Thai baht ($9.1 million) at the Thai box office and became the most successful Thai film in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.
It is the latest success story of films made in Thailand and Southeast Asia that are attracting audiences across the region and boosting the film industry while Hollywood struggles with strikes.
"Ovation and industry issues that have affected the flow of Hollywood product have led to a period of growth for local and regional films, in some cases with record results," says Rance Pauw of Artisan Gateway, a film consultancy.
In Indonesia, the horror film "KKN di Desa Penari" sold more than 10 million tickets in 2022, according to local media, becoming the country's highest-grossing film. The Vietnamese romance Mai, released in February, has become the highest-grossing film ever produced in Vietnam, domestically, in North America and Europe. | BGNES
