Syamsul Yusof’s Action Movie ‘Mat Kilau’ Becomes Malaysia’s Highest-Grossing Local Film Ever

deadline.com:

Malaysian historical action movie Mat Kilau: Kebangkitan Pahlawan, directed by Syamsul Yusof, has become the highest-grossing local film of all time in the Asian country, breaking the record set by the director’s own horror film Munafik 2 in 2018.Mat Kilau has grossed $11.97m (RM53m) in 13 days across Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.

While the producers only announce figures for the three territories combined, local distributors say the film has easily overtaken Munafik 2, which grossed $8.5m (RM37.74m) in Malaysia and $10.8m (RM48m) across the region.

It has achieved that figure despite going up against Top Gun: Maverick, Jurassic World Dominion and Minions: The Rise Of Gru at the Malaysian box office.Produced by Studio Sembara and distributed by Skop Productions, Mat Kilau tells the story of a legendary 19th Century Malay warrior, Mat Kilau, who fought against British colonisers and their high taxes.The cast includes Adi Putra, playing central character Mat Kilau, along with Beto Kusyairy, Fattah Amin, Yayan Ruhian and Johan Asari.

In addition to hit horrors Munafik and its sequel, actor-director Syamsul Yusof is also behind the popular KL Gangster franchise.The film’s scorching run suggests Malaysian box office is recovering after two years of cinema closures due to Covid-19.