Last year, Thai cinema made strides forward in terms of diversity in media platforms, the box office charts, and generic enrichment. Several local titles broke records at the box office and all kinds of genres were made to reach different groups of viewers. About 50 titles were released in theaters last year. Including those that were directly released to streaming, the number rises to 75. All of the New Thai Cinema veterans directly signed deals with Netflix and made their works for the streaming business. Nonzee Nimibutr and Wisit Sasanatieng produced Once Upon A Star – a story about a group of mobile cinema showmen and their activities during the times of the Thai star Mitr Chaibancha’s popularity, and The Murderer, a slapstick comedy about the chaotic investigation into murders in the North-east. Pen-ek Ratanaruang turned his earlier work Sixtynine (1999) into a series. Younger filmmakers made either feature-length movies or TV series. The most active operators include Netflix and Prime Video, along with the local platform Monomax. Some features like Nontawat Numbenchaphol’s Doi Boy (2023) now stream worldwide.
But the lucrative path of streaming took a hit when Prime Video canceled all their film and TV projects in the region, bringing uncertainty back to the market. Although industry players feel desperate about the low revenue of theatrical box office releases, several Thai films still broke records. Two horrors, The Undertaker (Thiti Srinuan, 2023) and Death Whisperer (Taweewat Wantha, 2023) swept up over €18.5 million (Baht 730 million) and 12.7 million (Baht 500 million) respectively. The Undertaker, a franchise targeted at the north-eastern audience, is a horror comedy about a group of friends and their interactions with an undertaker. Brimming with originality and honesty, it became a phenomenal success, hitting almost the same figures that Pee Mak (Banjong Pisanthanakun, 2013) used to make. Its success encouraged the government to support Thai movies as a whole. Death Whisperer was adapted from a series of popular horror books involving a family of farmers who are haunted by a spirit. The spirit takes over one of the daughters and the eldest son does everything he can to bring peace back to the family. With its meticulous production design and an excellent use of sound, the film became the second highest box-office success of the year, and a sequel is expected near the end of 2024.
The above two examples signify the achievement of Thai cinema franchises. The Undertaker is the sixth project of what is known as the Tai Ban Series – a series of films that tells the story of a group of friends in a village in the northeastern area. It is considered to be a kind of “Thai Marvel” series. Like Death Whisperer, The Undertaker benefitted from existing fans of the novel it was based on. The franchise element has caused the success of two other films, the sequels 4 Kings 2 (Phuttipong Nakthong, 2023) and Khun Pan 3 (Kongkiat Komesiri, 2023). The former continues the story about the lives of technical students who become involved in violence and fights. To avoid promoting violence, this time the film is more concerned with family problems. It hit the jackpot with €6 million (Baht 240 million). Khun Pan 3 is a sequel about a famous policeman who tries to track down a group of bandits in Thailand during the 1940s. It grossed €2.5 million (Baht 100 million). Works in many other genres emerged, and some did very well. Romantic comedy Long Live Love! (Piyakarn Butprasert) details the love disasters of a couple whose love life comes to end. Then some strange incidents allow them to have a second look at their relationship. Starting off with a poor box-office performance, the film became a sleeper hit due to the first-time pairing of its two leads, Sunny Suwanmethanont and Araya A Hargate. It grossed around €2.3 million (Baht 90 million). Other films have targeted teenage and young audiences, although most of them were not box office hits. Chookiat Sakveerakul returned with Mondo, about the strange life of a social media influencer after her identity is used by a creator to construct an AI called May Bot. She has to make a decision between her work life and her love life. Another good film which failed to capture audience attention was 14 Again, directed by Nareubadee Wetchakam. The film details a reunion of two young adults in a small town who try to regain their first loves. Not Friends (directed by Atta Hemwadee) shows a group of teenagers who struggle to manage their lives and friendships when one of their friends suddenly dies. Things get twisted when they find out bad things about their “best” friend. It is a nice story that talks about friendship in a different way.
Despite this diversity of genres, the majority of films were still horror. Not all of them did well. But GHD’s Home for Rent (Sophon Sakdaphisit, 2023) and The Djinn’s Curse (directed by Kriangkrai Monwichit) saw some success. Home for Rent tells the story of a family who are forced to leave their house to rent it to an old woman and her daughter. Some strange things happen to the family, and they later find the tenants are plotting against them.
A story of a father and a mother who try to protect their daughters, The Djinn’s Curse tells of a family in Bangkok who move into an old house, where they encounter some strange incidents. The film could be considered as one of the first Muslim movies that focuses on the afterlife, since supernatural events are forbidden to be discussed under Islamic law. Home for Rent and The Djinn’s Curse took over €1.8 million (Baht 72 million) and €1.5 million (Baht 58 million) respectively at the box office.
Other horrors scheduled for local theatres this year include The Cursed Land, the directorial debut of documentary director Panu Aree. The film portrays the lives of a Buddhist father and his daughter who move to live in an old house in a Muslim neighbourhood in Bangkok’s suburbs. They encounter strange things in the house. This forces them to travel to the south of Thailand where the majority of Muslim people live.
With the participation of well-known filmmakers such as producer Nonzee Nimibutr, and cinematographer Charnkit Chamniwikaipong, who used to shoot the movies of Pen-ek Ratanaruang, the film managed to open in a very art-oriented film festival, the International Film Festival Rotterdam.
The most active studio this year was M Pictures and its affiliates, which released around nine titles. Former active players like Sahamongkol Film and GDH made three and two titles. Neramit Nang is starting to construct a brand image with remarkable works like Numbenchapol’s Doi Boy, Nakthong’s 4 Kings 2 and Aree’s The Cursed Land. Some other new small studios are starting to emerge, including Be On Cloud which had a success with Man Suang, a suspense feature that tells the story about a murder in a high-class entertainment parlour in 1850. It was directed by Pond Krisda Witthayakhajorndet, Bhanbhassa Dhubtien and Chartchai Ketnust. Starring a pop star (Phakphum Romsaithong), it took over €890,000 (Baht 35 million). BrandThink Cinema started its new company with a serious drama about a red-light area in Bangkok entitled Red Life, directed by the studio’s founder Ekalak Klunson. But due to its serious content, the company did not achieve box office success. Noting the achievements of several Thai films last year, industry players now talk about a resurrection of Thai cinema. This is something that we have to watch out for from now on. After the success of several blockbusters last year, the government also introduced a new policy to promote Thai cinema by including it as one of its soft power projects. With a budget of €13.8 million (Baht 545 million), the government will support the making of films, TV series, and related activities in several ways. Filmmakers, actors, and producers have been brought on to the committee to discuss policies to promote Thai films in local and international arenas.
Parallel to this government policy, a new board has been assigned the task of changing the rating system, and a committee has been assigned to assess the ratings of each film. Two thirds of the committee will come from the industry rather than from the government.
Along with the industry achievements and the new governmental policies, a number of filmmaking training initiatives have been offered to new and young filmmakers by private and public agencies. Everything suggests that Thai cinema might shine again in the near future. Let’s wait and see!
Top 10 Thai Film Box Office in 2023:
1. The Undertaker, €18.5 million
2. Death Whisperer, €12.7m 3. 4 Kings 2, €6m
4. Khun Pan 3, €2.5m
5. Long Live Love!, €2.3m
6. Tid Noy, €2.1m
7. Home for Rent, €1.8m
8. The Djinn’s Curse, €1.5m
9. Tiger Running, €1.4m
10. You & Me & Me, €1.3m