Thai cinema achieved a remarkable milestone in capturing almost 38% of total theatrical revenue and claiming seven places in the year’s Top 10 box-office chart. It was a historic success, driven in part by the slowdown in Hollywood production following the industry strikes of previous years. But as Hollywood returned to normal, the Thai film industry slipped back into more familiar patterns: a market crowded with horror films, and weaker box-office results. To reduce financial risk, most studios turned to established franchises. Sequels, prequels, and spin-offs flooded the market, and most of them belonged to the horror genre.
Of the 55 films released theatrically in Thailand in 2025, around half revolved around ghosts, whether played for fear or comedy. Seven of them made it into the year’s Top 10 box-office chart. The biggest hit was Death Whisperer 3, the latest installment in the story of a man battling supernatural forces to save his family. This time, the film was directed by producer Narit Yuvaboon after the previous director, Taweewat Wantha, left to establish his own company.
Yuvaboon’s lack of directing experience showed in his handling of the film’s unwieldy script and the result was a technically heavy production. The story might well have ended with the first film, but Taweewat Wantha’s skill helped Death Whisperer 2 retain some of the original’s appeal due to its mix of action and horror – it is no surprise that the sequel performed better than the rest. The first Death Whisperer grossed €12.7 million, the second €22.8 million, and the third €12.45 million. Although the saga now appears to have ended, a spin-off, Saming Khao Khwang, is already in development. It will focus on Yak (Nadech Kugimiya), the central character, as he battles more ghosts to save his family.
Thailand’s most prominent studio, GDH, also entered the horror-comedy field with The Red Envelope (Chayanop Boonprakob), a remake of the Taiwanese hit Marry My Dead Body (Chen Wei-hao, 2022). Starring the hugely popular duo Putthipong Assaratanakul and Krit Amnuaydechkorn, best known for their performances in some boys’ love series, the film follows Men, a small-time thief who becomes a policeman and accidentally picks up a mysterious red envelope. He soon learns that the envelope binds him to an ancient ritual that requires him to marry a corpse or face lifelong misfortune. What shocks Men most, however, is that the corpse is male. Despite its star power, The Red Envelope took nearly two months to pass the 100-million-baht mark (€2.70 million), partly because many viewers were reluctant to see an LGBT-themed film.
Five Star Productions, one of Thailand’s two oldest studios, also continued to play it safe by investing in horror. In addition to the Pee Nak series, which has now reached five installments since 2019, the studio revived the Art of Devil franchise with the prequels Panor and Panor 2 in 2024 and 2025. The original Art of Devil cycle centred on a group of college friends who return to their hometown and become entangled in a series of strange incidents linked to their former teacher, Panor. She is ultimately revealed to be a victim of her own beauty, manipulated by men using black magic to flirt with her. The saga began with Art of Devil 2 and Art of Devil 3 in 2005 and 2008 – unrelated to Thanit Jitnukul’s Art of Devil (2004) – and later expanded into the eight-episode Art of the Devil series in 2020. That series functioned more as a spin-off, shifting the setting to Bangkok and focusing on a group of students confronted by black magic associated with a three-eyed god first mentioned in Art of Devil 2. Panor and Panor 2 return to the character’s early life, showing how the young Panor was mistreated by those around her.
Thai horror franchises have developed their own distinctive characteristics and traditions. Some spin-offs even go on to produce their own sequels, as in the case of The Undertaker 2 (Thiti Srinuan, 2026), following the success of The Undertaker (2023), itself an offshoot of the Thibaan the Series sagas. Since its debut in 2018, that franchise has expanded into nine sequels and spin-offs. Set in northeastern Thailand, it portrays the everyday lives of a group of friends, and has built a strong following among regional audiences.
Outside the franchise machine, Taweewat Wantha reaffirmed his command of the genre with Tha Rae: The Exorcist, a hybrid horror film that blends Western and Thai supernatural beliefs. Marketed as the first Thai film to present exorcism in the classic “The Exorcist style” it follows the priest Paolo as he attempts to cast out a demon in Thailand’s oldest and largest Catholic community, in the country’s northeast. Wantha also directed another horror film, Attack 13, the first production from his new company, 13 Studio, backed by veteran production house Phranakorn Film. The film centres on a group of college students haunted by strange events after the death of a friend.
Veteran director Kongkiat Khomsiri was also highly active in 2025, releasing one action film and one horror title. 4 Tigers is a spin-off from the successful Khun Pan series, which tells the life story of Police Major General Khun Pantharak Ratchadet. Since the first film in 2016, followed by Khun Pan 2 (2018) and Khun Pan 3 (2023), the series has attracted audiences with its combination of action and superstition. Khomsiri applies the same formula in 4 Tigers, which focuses on the lives of four gangsters who were once Khun Pan’s enemies. Like the Khun Pan films, 4 Tigers proved a hit, becoming the year’s third-highest-grossing film, taking more than €2.76 million and paving the way for more spin-offs. Khomsiri’s horror release, Our House, also performed strongly, grossing €2.70 million. Based on ghost stories popularised via Thai radio programmes, it tells of a man who moves into a house and encounters a spirit from a neighbouring home. Although he can save his wife and daughter, he cannot escape the consequences of his own past, especially an earlier affair with his former lover.
Even arthouse director Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke turned to ghost stories and made his directorial debut with A Useful Ghost, a supernatural black comedy-drama about a young man who becomes sexually involved with a vacuum cleaner haunted by his dead wife. The film took four years to complete, supported by several international funds, before being selected for the Critics’ Week section at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. It was also chosen as Thailand’s submission for the Best International Feature Film category at the 98th Academy Awards, but because of a communication problem it was not submitted on time.
Amid the flood of horror films and franchise entries, GDH remained one of the few studios still committed to variety. Alongside the horror-comedy The Red Envelope, it released one comedy and one LGBT drama. Beauty and the Beat (Kittiphak Thong-Uam) mixes drama, music, and comedy in a story about a diva whose comeback collides with a younger generation of performers. Flat Girls, directed by Jirassaya Wongsutin, explores the painful memories of two teenage girls growing up in a poor housing block. The studio also gave regular collaborator Nawapol Thamrongrataanarit room to pursue a more experimental direction in Human Resource, a slow-burning, gloomy drama that premiered in Venice in 2025. Centred on an HR professional, the film reflects on the hardships of living in contemporary Bangkok and Thailand.
GDH also produced what may become another major success both at home and abroad, much as How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies was in 2025. Gohan tells the life story of a stray dog, moving from adoption to abandonment and then adoption again. Produced by the same producer behind How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies, together with producer-director Baz Poonpiriya (Countdown, Bad Genius), the film’s three stages are directed separately by Chayanop Boonprakob (The Red Envelope), Atta Hemwadee (Not Friends, 2023), and Baz Poonpiriya himself. Poonpiriya has also been an active supporter of stray-dog adoption campaigns in Thailand.
Meanwhile, under the National Softpower Development Policy, Thailand has established a new agency, better known as the Thailand Creative Content Agency, or THACCA, to promote 11 areas of Thai soft power. These include festivals, tourism, food, art, design, Thai boxing, music, books, film (including dramas and series), fashion, and gaming and esports. Significant funding has been allocated across the film sector, covering production, promotion, education, and related activities.
Yet because this is the first major state-backed film funding initiative for a long while, the results have been uneven. Projects that receive support are still largely limited to established names, whether in the local industry or on the international festival circuit, especially in terms of key positions such as director and producer. Some well-known figures have received several grants at once, and even some commercial blockbusters have secured support.
By contrast, filmmakers in the middle range – those with moderate local or international visibility – have often been overlooked. Political instability has also undermined continuity. Since THACCA began operating, three cabinet reshuffles have interrupted parts of the programme. In addition, many of the criteria simply replicate those used by international film funds and festival-oriented arthouse schemes over the past two decades. Such criteria are not always suitable for Thailand, especially when they are applied equally to both commercial and arthouse projects. Most importantly, some organisations survive almost entirely on such public funding while simultaneously running production, promotion, education, and other film-related activities, with little acknowledgement of the conflicts of interest involved.
Even so, the new funding has already created momentum, and a number of more interesting films are likely to emerge in the years ahead.
Top 10 Thai Film Box Office in 2025
1. Death Whisperer 3, €12.45 million
2. The Red Envelope, €2.79m
3. Tigers, €2.76m
4. Our House, €2.70m
5. The Stone, €2.65m
6. Kayaor: Disrespecting Faith and the Supernatural, €2.30m
7. Fast Racing Jazz, €2.21m
8. Panor, €2.11m
9. Nak Loves Mak Soo Much, €1.70m
10. Tomb Watcher, €1.52m
Anchalee Chaiworaporn