News

‘Malbatt: Misi Bakara’ will receive a release comparable with Hollywood blockbusters.

Malaysian action drama Malbatt: Misi Bakara, offering an alternative perspective on the incident that inspired Ridley Scott’s Black Hawk Down, is set for a local theatrical release on a level normally reserved for Hollywood blockbusters.

Distributed by Gsc Movies, the film will open in more than 150 cinemas across Malaysia on August 24, a week ahead of Malaysia’s Independence Day on August 31. It represents a significant release for a local feature in the country, which usually favours major US titles. It will also receive a day-and-date release in Singapore through Clover Films.

Syafig Yusof’s cop action thriller topped records set by ‘Mat Kilau’ in 2022.

Syafig Yusof’s action thriller Polis Evo 3 has stormed the Malaysian box office with the biggest opening weekend for a local film since the Covid-19 pandemic, breaking records set last year by Mat Kilau.

The Malay-language film took $3.47m (RM16m) from its first four days including previews, surpassing last year’s historical action epic Mat Kilau, which grossed $2.65m (RM12.2m) from its four-day opening weekend in June 2022 and went on to become Malaysia’s highest grossing local film with a total of $21.6m (nearly...

Muhammad Kilau bin Rasu, popularly know as ‘Mat Kilau’, or alternatively known as Mohamed bin Ibrahim or ‘Mat Siam’, was a local chieftain and folk hero from Pahang, Malaysia, best known for his role in the Pahang Uprising (1891-1895) against the British Empire. The exceptional valor demonstrated by Mat Kilau in the uprising have gained him a place in popular memory as one of the heroes of Malay nationalism. Syamsul Yusof directs a martial arts film based on the historical character, in a movie that is as one-sided as all the recent action movies we have seen throughout the world, from “Top Gun” to “Wolf Warrior”.

The film begins in 1890 in Pahang, as the British arrive in the area. Their greed, their violent ways, and their will to disrupt the Islamic ways of the locals become evident from the introductory scene, which ends up in bloody violence as...

Malaysian historical action movie Mat Kilau: Kebangkitan Pahlawan, directed by Syamsul Yusof, has become the highest-grossing local film of all time in the Asian country, breaking the record set by the director’s own horror film Munafik 2 in 2018.

Mat Kilau has grossed 11.97m (RM53m) in 13 days across Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei. While the producers only announce figures for the three territories combined, local distributors say the film has easily overtaken Munafik 2, which grossed 8.5m (RM37.74m) in Malaysia and 10.8m (RM48m) across the region. It has achieved that figure despite going up against Top Gun: Maverick, Jurassic World Dominion and Minions: The Rise Of Gru at the Malaysian box office.

Produced by Studio Kembara and distributed by Skop Productions, Mat Kilau tells the story of a legendary 19th Century Malay warrior, Mat Kilau, who fought against British colonisers and their high taxes.

The cast includes Adi Putra, playing central character Mat Kilau,...