In 2024, for the first time in the history of cinemagoing in Thailand, domestic movies earned more money than foreign films, taking 54 percent of the total gross. At the same time, more international screens opened up to Thai cinema, and some films set new records for Asian films. There was also the first Thai film to make the15-film shortlist for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.
Fifty-four local films out of the 326 titles that were theatrically released last year took around 68.6 million euros from a total revenue of 126 million euros. Hollywood productions earned only 45 million euros, or around 38 percent of the total income. The rest of the revenue came from imported films from other countries. This phenomenon has led to more screenings of local productions on Thai screens. Unfortunately, the majority of upcoming local productions still fall into the horror and sequels category.
Death Whisperer 2, the sequel to the 2023 blockbuster Death Whisperer, returned to local screens and took over 22.8 million euros as the top film of the year. Following its predecessor, the film details the ghost hunt of a man trying to protect his family. Taweewat Wantha still keeps the movie in an action/horror style and it excels in the editing and production design. More ghost hunters join the adventure, and new locations – the jungle and the hotel – were used for the chases. Furthermore, the subplot of familial love and solidarity attracted filmgoers into theatres.
The most surprising film of the year, however, was Pat Boonnitipat’s directorial debut How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies, a soft drama about a college dropout who starts caring for his terminally ill grandmother in the hope of seizing her multimillion-dollar inheritance. After making a splash at the home box office with 9.2 million euros, the film became the highest-grossing Thai film to date in several countries – Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia, Myanmar, Vietnam and Australia. Although the majority of the film’s market were in Asia, it also broke into the US and some European countries, including the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Belgium. How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies also won several awards at minor festivals, and the film was also Thailand’s first submission to advance into the 15-film shortlist at the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.
How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies’ producer GDH559 also started another wave with the studio’s first LGBT feature The Paradise of Thorns, the directorial debut of Naruebet Kuno. The film features the struggle of an unmarried gay man who loses all of his shared property after his partner dies. Although Thailand has already passed a same-sex marriage law, The Paradise of Thorns still attracted the public with strong acting skills by both veteran and newcomers. It took over euro 4.2 million.
GDH559 has also tried to change its filmmaking policies in the last few years, giving opportunities to new directors, training new producers to experiment with new film genres, as exemplified by the making of How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies and The Paradise of Thorns. Usually, newcomers would be offered to direct television series before making features. Another director is Jirassaya Wongsutin, who has long been known for several short film awards and a television series, One Year 365 Days, My House, Your Home (2019). She puts her childhood experiences into the coming-of-age drama feature Flat Girls, which features the painful childhood memories of two teenagers living in a poor flat. Wongsutin’s remarkable craftmanship shines through in the light, silent, mysterious tones. Some hideous class discrimination is also shown in the film. Wongsutin has a bright future ahead.
Experienced director Chayanop Boonprakob (Suckseed, May Who?, A Gift, Friend Zone) collaborated with director/producer Banjong Pisanthanakul (Shutter, Alone, Pee Mak) who proposed that the studio remake the Taiwanese blockbuster Marry My Dead Body (Cheng Wei Hao, 2022) in a Thai version, The Red Envelope. Starring two top Thai stars, Putthipong Assaratanakul and Krit Amnuaydechkorn, the film maintains some comedic chemistry with a relationship between a straight police spy and a gay ghost who wants to discover the truth behind his death so that he can really rest in peace.
Aside from GDH559, M Studio has been the most active investor in the film industry over the last few years – from four titles in 2023 to seven in 2024. Of the total 68.6 million euros last year, M Studio took 37.2 million euros. Established as the biggest theatre operator in Thailand, the Major Group had first expanded into productions and distribution under the name M Pictures. It changed to M Studio last year, producing its own movies and collaborating with various partners in the entertainment business such as television companies Channel 3 (for the Death Whisperer franchise) and Workpoint Entertainment (for My Boo). Other alliances include television channel Mono Group, post-production business Kantana, and advertising business Plan B. The studio’s works cover both good quality films and locally-targeted features.
Several new studios and companies were established in recent years, producing mainly horror. Neramitrnung Film is one of the few studios that has offered more diversity to the local audience – fantasy, action drama and neo-noir and sci-fi. But not all of its products are hits, although the works made by the director Puttipong Naktong always do well. Focusing on male action drama for 4 Kings and 4 Kings II in 2021 and 2023, the director switched to the same genre for In Youth We Trust (2024), a portrayal of prisoners’ lives. The studio also let director Chookiat Sakveerakul try his first sci-fi feature Taklee Genesis (2024), plotted around a middle-aged mother who returns to her hometown to care for her ill mother, and is then urged to search for her father who disappeared 30 years ago.
BrandThink Cinema set out to be a new-wave Thai studio which strives to craft stories through fresh perspectives and challenges the limitations of the Thai film industry. However, the studio’s first two works did not do well in terms of both box office and criticism. Ekalak Klunson’s Redlife is a hard-core drama of youngsters and their families living on the edge of the underworld in Bangkok. In the same way, its second work – the documentary 5th Round (Rawee Piriyapongsak, 2024) – depicts the misery of five boxers from four stages of life – a child boxer, a teen boxer, established boxers and a nearly-retired boxer. This year the studio tried its hand at the popular horror genre with Halabala, giving the first directing opportunity to screenwriter Eakasit Thairaat. He has already written several horror scripts such as 13 Beloved (Chookiat Sakveerakul, 2006) and Homestay (Pakpoom Wongpoom, 2019). This time, he chooses to explore a dark secret inside a forest called Halabala, down in the south of Thailand.
We cannot deny that the majority of film releases of the last two years are still horror. The two oldest studios, Five Star Production and Sahamongkol Film International, with their production schedules decreasing each year, prioritized the genre. In 2024, the sequel Pee Nak 4 was directed by Phontharis Chotkijsadarsopon and told a story about three friends at an old temple outside the city where ordained monks die. This year, the studio made a prequel to the Art of the Devil franchise. Starting with Art of the Devil 2 in 2005, made by six young directors, Pasith Buranajan, Kongkiat Komesiri, Isara Nadee, Seree Phongnithi, Yosapong Polsap, Putipong Saisikaew and Art Thamthrakul, under the name of Ronin Team, the franchise continued with Art of the Devil 3 (Kongkiat Komesiri, 2008). There was actually no connection with Art of the Devil (Thanit Jitnukul, 2004), which concerns a woman who uses black magic to take revenge on her ex and his family. Art of the Devil 2 and 3 tell the story of a school teacher named Panor who suffers from the black magic spells cast by men that want to seduce her. Almost a decade later, the prequel Panor was brought back into cinemas by one of the Ronin directors, Putipong Saisikaew. This time, the earlier life of the protagonist Panor was explained, telling of why she was led into the black magic world and mistreated by people around her in childhood. Panor became the first Thai hit of 2025, taking more than 2.1 million euros. As a result, another sequel has just been announced.
In fact, franchise production became a common trend in the film industry in recent years, as exemplified by Five Star Entertainment’s Pee Nak or Art of the Devil collection. Sahamongkol Film International also continued its franchise by making the Haunted Universities 2nd Semester (Jatuphong Rungrueangdechaphat, Ekaphon Sethasuk, Pattaraporn Werasakwong, 2022), after the first edition Haunted Universities (Bunjong Sinthanamongkolkul, Sutthiporn Tubtim, 2009) had already been made after 13 years. Haunted Universities 3 (Aussada Likitboonma, Sorawit Meungkaew, Nontawat Numbenchapol) followed immediately and ran up the box office charts last year. Not surprisingly, several titles in the charts will see sequels in upcoming years, including Death Whisperer 3 (Naritt Yuwaboon), and My Boo 2 (Komgrit Triwimol).
Although very few arthouse movies travelled to international screens last year, there were still some independent films that were locally made and exhibited, especially in micro-theatres. Some of them also made use of networks around the country. These works were privately funded, including some which were school theses.
Among the few arthouse offerings, Phuttiphong Aroonpheng’s second feature Morrison (2023) highlights the connection between a middle-aged ex-pop star and an old hotel, reflecting its past under American occupation. Cannes Résidence alumni Sivaroj Kongsakul finally finished his longtime project, his second feature Regretfully at Dawn (2024), a contemplative drama of an ex-soldier in running his old life and at the same time fostering his granddaughter. No Thai features were selected for the three major festivals of Berlin, Cannes and Venice during the last two years. But commercial movies have started to travel more often to international festivals, such as A Paradise of Thorns at Toronto, and several others at Rotterdam.
The local film circle has also been more energetic in the last two years. Several new film organisations have been set up such as Thai On-Screen Actor Association (TOSAA), the Film Editors Association of Thailand (FEAT), and the Screenwriters Association of Thailand, with several state support groups on board. Considered to be a kind of soft power by the government, more activities, training and production funds have been proposed by several agencies, including the Thailand Creative Culture Agency (THACCA), the Creative Economy Agency and the Culture Ministry. As a result, more newcomers will be emerging in upcoming years. Although more opportunities are given to new talent, most of the activities are still limited by government bureaucracy. For example, all requested projects must take place with producers in Thailand. As a result, the same companies or producers have requested financial assistance for several projects in one year. Also, most of the projects are produced in Bangkok, and only a few have been expanded to other cities. There is also a conflict of interest, as the majority of approved projects are produced by the members of the subcommittee itself.
Top 10 Thai Film
Box Office in 2024
1. Death Whisperer 2, €22.8 million
2. How to Make Millions Before
Grandma Dies, €9.5m
3. Deadpool & Wolverine, €6.7m
4. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,
€6.2m
5. Pee Nak 4, €5m
6. A Paradise of Thorn, €4.2m
7. Oh My Ghost The Finale, €4.2m
8. My Boo, €4.2m
9. Haunted Universities 3, €3.6m
10. In Youth We Trust, €3.3m
Anchalee Chaiworaporn