News

Netflix has revealed its slate of original titles from Indonesia and Thailand set to premiere in 2025, including a series from the team behind box office phenomenon How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies.

Thai series Mad Unicorn follows a reformed rural street thug who dives into the express delivery industry to challenge a business mogul who once betrayed him and goes on to become the country’s first “unicorn” startup.

It marks the series directorial debut of Nottapon Boonprakob, who co-wrote Sundance 2021 award-winner One For The Road, and is executive produced by Jira Maligool and Vanridee Pongsittisak – the team behind...

Netflix Thailand is adding a rags-to-riches series exec produced by the team behind How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies and a feel-good movie about snow sculpting to a nine-strong originals slate for 2025.

The streamer has unveiled one new series, one returner and six movies. As revealed last week, it is also putting a February 27 launch date on its upcoming series Dalah: Death and the Flowers.

The slate comes at a delicate time for Netflix Thailand, which this week saw originals chief Yongyoot Thongkongtoon exit for “personal reasons,” according to trade title Content Asia.

On the series front comes Mad Unicorn and the returning faith and finance drama The Believers. Mad Unicorn is from Thai studio Gdh 559 and is notable as the series directorial debut of Nottapon Boonprakob, a writer for One for the Road. Jira Maligool and Vanridee Pongsittisak, who were behind the megahit film How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies,...

Singapore: “La Luna”

“La Luna”, directed by M Raihan Halim, has been picked to represent Singapore in the best international feature film category at the Oscars. The Singapore-Malaysia co-production is a Malay-language comedy about a woman who opens a lingerie shop in a conservative Malaysian village.

The film had its world premiere at the Tokyo International Film Festival last November in the Asian Future Section and participated at the Jogja-Netpac Asian Film Festival. It was also the closing title at the International Film Festival Rotterdam and played in Shanghai earlier this year.

Produced by Singaporean firms Clover Films and Papahan Films, in association with Malaysia’s Act 2 Pictures and One Cool Film, the film stars Shaheizy Sam, Sharifah Amani, Wan Hanafi Su and Hisyam Hamid. It was released in Singaporean, Malaysian and Indonesian cinemas in November last year.

“La Luna” is M Raihan Halim’s second feature directing effort,...

The National Federation of Thai Film Associations (Mpc) has selected How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies as Thailand’s submission for the Oscars’ best international feature film category.

Directed by Pat Boonnitipat, the film became a box office hit across Asia, with the global box office currently reaching $50M.

Outside of Thailand, How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies has become the most successful Thai film of all time in Singapore and Malaysia. In Indonesia, the film received more than 3.5 million admissions, surpassing Korean horror film Exhuma (2.6 million admissions) to become the all-time most successful Asian film in the country. Netflix later picked up the film’s streaming rights for Southeast Asia.

Produced by Thai film studio Gdh, the film follows a young man, M, who moves in to take care of his terminally-ill grandmother in a bid to win her inheritance. M is played by top singer-actor Putthipong Assaratanakul...

After breaking box office records across Asia, Thai drama How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies is set for theatrical releases in China, North America and Europe.

Release dates have been locked in China, where the film will open on August 23 through Teamer Media; North America on September 13 through Well Go USA; the Netherlands on October 10 and Belgium on November 13, both through Vedette Film.

Further releases are scheduled for South Korea through Nk Contents in October; the UK and Ireland by Vertigo Releasing in December; and for India through PVR on an unspecified date.

It marks the first Thai box office hit,...

Hot from its multi-territory success with “How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies,” Thai film studio GDH559 set out a powerful production and releasing slate for the coming year. Significantly, four of its next five releases have LGBT themes.

Released in April, “Grandma” earned THB339 million ($9.4 million) in Thailand. It has since broken records in five countries for Thai-language film on its way to earning a cumulative THB1.2 billion ($33.3 million) and plays imminently at the New York Asian Film Festival.

Nearest to release, and most accomplished-looking of the new slate, is “The Paradise of Thorns,” a comedy drama about a man who is cut out of his lover’s durian farm inheritance due to a lack of paperwork and hereto-centric laws. A similar theme was explored earlier this year in Ray Yeung’s Teddy Award-winning drama “All Shall Be Well,” which told its story from a lesbian point of view...

Riding high on the box office success of How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies, Thai production house Gdh 559 has unveiled details of five upcoming features as part of 10-strong film slate.

Billkin Putthipong Assaratanakul, the breakout star of box office phenomenon How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies, will head the cast of comedy Project Red alongside Pp Krit Amnuaydechkorn. It reunites the two actors for the first time since hit Bl (boys’ love) TV series I Told Sunset About You and sequel I Promised You The Moon.

Both stars are also partnering with Gdh through their respective...

Thai production and sales company Gdh 559 has lined up a Cannes slate that includes a trio of directorial feature debuts ready for release this year, following the smash hit box office success of How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies.

Boss Kuno’s The Paradise of Thorns is set in Thailand’s mountainous north and revolves around a gay couple who have built a life together on a durian orchard. When one of them dies suddenly, the other must fight to reclaim the fruits of his love and labour as they are not legally married.

The cast is headed...

Pat Boonnitipat’s family drama How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies has scored the biggest opening for a Thai film this year.

According to producer and distributor Gdh 559, the film opened top of the local box office with takings of $2.6m nationwide over the four-day first weekend (April 4-7). It dethroned Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire, which opened on March 28, and pushed Korean hit Exhuma, which previously led the box office following its March 21 opening, to third place.

It marks the biggest opening for a Thai film this year and the second biggest opening film overall, behind...

US sales agent WME Independent has picked up international sales to upcoming Thai family drama How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies from Bad Genius producer Gdh 559.

It marks the first collaboration between the two firms and is also the first time major Thai studio Gdh 559 has not handled international sales on one of its own titles.

WME Independent will represent the film internationally, excluding Thailand, which will be handled by Gdh, and will introduce the title to buyers in Berlin during the EFM next week.

The Thai-language feature centres on a young man who quits his job to look after his dying grandmother.

Gdh plans to acquire three to four international films per year.

Bangkok-based Gdh 559 has acquired Celine Song’s Past Lives from A24, which it will release theatrically in Thailand as its first non-Thai film.

Gdh is expanding into the theatrical distribution of international features through new business unit Out Of The Box. The US romantic drama, which proved one of the most critically lauded selections at this year’s Sundance and Berlinale, will be released in Thai cinemas on July 6.

The Korean and English-language drama centres on childhood friends who reunite in New York two decades after one family emigrated from South Korea.

Exclusive: Suspense thriller sells to Malaysia and Vietnam in slew of distribution deals.

Thailand’s Gdh 559 has scored a raft of deals at Filmart for Bad Genius, including Westec Media (Cambodia), Golden Village (Singapore), Pt Inter Solusindo (Indonesia), Suraya Filem (Malaysia) and Galaxy (Vietnam).

The suspense thriller, which opens locally in May, is Gdh’s first release of this year. The film was directed by Nattawut Poonpiriya, whose credits include Countdown [pictured].

The company has also sold A Gift to Orange Sky Golden Harvest for Hong Kong and Bees Factory for Taiwan.

Released in December, the feel-good comedy omnibus is directed by Jira Maligool, Nithiwat Tharatorn, Chayanop Boonprakob and Kriangkrai Wachirathamporn.

Thai production house Gdh 559 is launching its inaugural slate with Banjong Pisanthanakun’s anticipated romance.

Banjong Pisanthanakun’s One Day is set to open on Sept 1 as the first title from the debut slate of new Thai production house Gdh 559, following the breakup of Gmm Tai Hub (Gth) last year.

The highly-anticipated romance film reunites Banjong with his leading man and co-screenwriter Chantavit “Ter” Dhanasevi (Hello Stranger).

The story follows Ter’s character who risks everything to be with his dream girl for just one day by pretending to be her boyfriend after she suffers temporary memory loss.

TV actress Nittha “Mew” Jirayungyurn makes her big screen debut in the film, which was mainly shot on location in Hokkaido, Japan.

Another upcoming Gdh title is New Year’s Gift, which is scheduled for release on Dec 1. The feel-good romantic drama is a three-part omnibus directed by Jira Maligool (The Tin Mine), Nithiwat Tharatorn (The Teacher’s Diary...