2025 showed the resilience of the Indonesian film industry despite pressures from local economic conditions and capacity constraints in the theatrical market. 223 films were released in 2025 according to filmindonesia.or.id data, maintaining pressure on the country’s screening capacity. This is an increase from 170 titles in 2024 and 128 in 2023.
Local titles sold over 82 million tickets compared to 45 million for imports, with total admissions reaching 127.4 million, 4 million more than 2024. This maintained market share at around 64%, almost a 2:1 ratio. Indonesians have also embraced streaming, with Vidio now boasting over 4.7 million paying subscribers and Netflix continuing to invest in local originals.
Cinema chains Cinema XXI, Cinépolis, CGV and smaller operators Platinum and FLIX continued to invest in new cinemas as the population-to-screen ratio remains one of the lowest in Southeast Asia. A new operator called Layar Digi hopes to establish its own network of micro-cinemas at Alfamart locations across the country to capture more audience.
Indonesia also had broad representation at global film festivals with On Your Lap (Pangku), the directorial debut of actor Reza Rahadian, the clear standout of the year. It received the Face of the Future Award from the Busan International Film Festival, the NETPAC Jury Prize for Best Asian Film at QCinema International Film Festival 2025, and four Piala Citra awards at the Festival Film Indonesia 2025. It also played in the Far East in Progress section at FEFF27 last year. It also fared well with over 560,000 viewers at the local box-office.
Other festival titles spent time making their way around the world before local audiences got to see them. This includes Crocodile Tears (Air Mata Buaya) from Tumpal Tampubolon which premiered at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival and then at the 29th Busan International Film Festival but won’t be released domestically until May 2026. Similarly, the meta-horror film The Draft! (Setan Alas!) from Yusron Fuadi that recalls the 2017 cult hit One Cut of the Dead (Ueda Shinichiro), premiered at the 18th Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival in late 2023 before wide release in March 2026.
At the Forum Film Dokumenter (FFD), Bunga Siagian presented Turang (1957), a film by her father Bachtiar Siagian, a leftist filmmaker imprisoned after the arrival of the New Order regime in 1966. Turang had been thought lost, but was rediscovered in the archives of Gosfilmofond in Russia and is now being screened locally and internationally. The other standout from the festival was A Distorted Individual (Adythia Utama), an autobiographical satire that documents noise musician Individual Distortion’s effort to win the annual Anugerah Musik Indonesia (Indonesian Music Awards).
Audiences flocked to see the comedy, Agak Laen: Menyala Pantiku! and the animation Jumbo with both recording over 10 million viewers each, breaking the record held by the horror film Dancing Village (KKN di Desa Penari) from Awi Suryadi from 2022. In March 2026 Agak Laen: Menyala Pantiku! became the biggest selling film in Indonesian history, passing Avengers: Endgame (2019) with a total of 10,980,933 admissions.
Rather than retaining the same characters and setting from the first film [Agak Laen, 2024], Agak Laen: Menyala Pantiku! sees the comedy foursome (played by Bene Dion, Boris Bokir, Oki Rengga, and Indra Jegel) playing earnest, with inept detectives investigating a murder at an old people’s home. Muhadkly Acho returned as writer-director alongside producers Dipa Andika Nurprasetyo and Ernest Prakasa from Imajinari Films. Ernest Prakasa also wrote and directed Lost in the Spotlight (Lupa Daratan) for Netflix with Vino G. Bastian in the lead role.
As an animation Jumbo (Ryan Adriandhy) surprised observers, but showed that Indonesian animation has improved significantly since Battle of Surabaya (Aryanto Yuniawan, 2015), one of the first theatrically released animation titles. Jumbo is the nickname of the main character Don, a chubby schoolboy who dreams of performing a stage play from a special book written by his parents. When his book is stolen by a bully, he rallies his friends and gets help from a fairy to make his dream come true. Vsinema and Ryan Adriandhy return in 2026 with Na Willa, a colourful kids movie employing a mix of animation and live action.
Horror continued to dominate the local box office accounting for over a third of all admissions with standout title Sugar Mill (Pabrik Gula) from Awi Suryadi recording 4.7 million admissions. Sugar Mill continues MD Pictures’ run of hit horror titles adapted from online short stories by “Simpleman” which began with Dancing Village through to Janur Ireng: Sewu Dino the Prequel (Kimo Stamboel, 2025). Awi Suryadi’s other successful horror franchise, Danur, which began in 2017 looks to conclude in early 2026 with Danur: The Last Chapter.
On Netflix, The Elixir (Abadi Nan Jaya) from Kimo Stamboel was a surprise hit with its unique Indonesian take on the zombie genre. Sequel and remakes such as the horror The Book of Sijjin and Illiyyin (Hadrah Daeng Ratu), based on a Turkish original, and horror-comedy Kang Solah: from Kang Mak x Nenek Gayung (Herwin Novianto), based on a Thai original, were also well-received. Other horror films of note included the mountain climbing horror Petaka Gunung Gede (Azhar Kinoi Lubis), the “mother takes troubled daughter to black magic death cult healer” feature Jalan Pulang (JeroPoint). Qodrat 2 (Charles Gozali and Imron Ayikayu) sees the return of Ustadz Qodrat, who must fight the devil to save his wife and his faith.
A diverse roster of other genres made their way into cinemas and festivals, led by drama Twisted Fate (Tukar Takdir) from Mouly Surya, the love story Komang (Naya Anindita), the thriller Dopamine (Dopamin) from Teddy Soeria Atmadja, and a quirky comedy, Better Off Dead (Tinggal Meninggal) from Kristo Immanuel. Sore: A Wife from the Future (Sore: Istri dari Masa Depan) by Yandy Laurens got the most attention with its Groundhog Day style time-loop love story. Sore: A Wife from the Future was based on the 2017 web-series of the same title created by Yandy Laurens. Yandy Laurens displayed his unique storytelling abilities in his other 2025 film, A Brother and 7 Siblings (1 Kakak 7 Ponakan), adapted from a 1996 TV show.
Come & See Pictures, Joko Anwar’s production company with producer Tia Hasibuan, continued its run of Joko Anwar-directed titles with Siege at Thorn High (Pengepungan di Bukit Duri) and Ghost in the Cell (screening at FEFF28). Set in a violent near future, Siege at Thorn High sees teacher Edwin (Morgan Oey) transfer to an infamous high school to continue the search for his missing nephew, which started during the anti-Chinese violence of 17 years earlier. Ghost in the Cell uses the tight confines of a male prison to explore themes of betrayal, corruption, and systemic violence with an ensemble cast of Joko Anwar regulars including Abimana Aryasatya, Endy Arfian, Bront Palarae, Morgan Oey, Lukman Sardi and Aming Sugandhi.
Come & See also released the psychological thriller sMOTHERed (Legenda Kelam Malin Kundang), from newcomers Rafki Hidayat and Kevin Rahardjo. Riffing off the West Sumatran Malin Kundang legend in which a son is cursed after denying and disowning his own mother, the film is set in a modern household in which an artist must confront deep secrets about himself.
In the streaming business, Netflix may have the most name recognition, but locally Vidio leads as the most watched streaming service. Its combination of free and paid content and sports programming gives it an edge in the local market. Vidio have their own hit titles such as Scandal 3 – The Final & Sexiest (Dom Dharmo), Gen Z Romance (Asmara Gen Z) from Vemmy Sagita, and Forbidden Connection (Jalinan Terlarang) from John De Rantau and Angling Sagaran. International series, such as the Turkish drama Kuma: The Other Wife (Kuma: Istri Kedua), which are available for free, also drew audiences to Vidio.
Publication of the memoir Broken Strings: Fragments of Stolen Youth from actress Aurelie Moeremans in late 2025 revealed how abuse and exploitation are still rife in the media industry. Moeremans detailed her rapid entry into modelling and acting as a teenager, and how she was groomed, abused, and tricked into a false marriage by an actor much older than her. A powerful victim narrative, its online publication came in the wake of other cases recounted on social media and in the news – including an incident on the set of Forbidden Connection. The Indonesian Film Producers Association (APROFI) published their Panduan Pencegahan Kekerasan Seksual (Sexual Violence Prevention Guidelines) in partnership with Netflix as part of ongoing efforts to improve safety and work conditions.
The much-loved Jogja-Netpac Asian Film Festival (a.k.a. JAFF) celebrated its 20th year with a special programme and a screening of Opera Jawa (Garin Nugroho, 2006). The festival is a product of the new cultural flourishing in the wake of the economic and political crisis of the late 1990s and has been a home for new and emerging Indonesian and Asian cinema. The festival remains a deeply local event that is a testament to the organisers and the audience which come out to support the festival and local filmmaking.
Thomas Barker