'Pulau' highest-grossing Malaysian film in Cambodia, Vietnam

KUALA LUMPUR - Controversial film Pulau has become the highest-grossing Malaysian film in Cambodia and Vietnam, says WebTVAsia’s chief executive officer Fred Chong.

In a press conference yesterday, Chong said the film earned over RM700,000 in Cambodia at the box office since its release there on June 22 this year.

“It is amazing that Pulau has been a hit in Cambodia. With co-producers Filmfource Studio and My Way Pictures, we want to thank all viewers for making it happen.

“The figure is indeed very high considering Cambodia’s population is only 16.6 million. Not all films in Malaysia are capable of achieving such a collection,” he was quoted in media reports.

Pulau is also the only Malaysian film selected for the Cambodia International Film Festival 2023.

Chong added that Pulau has also become the top-grossing Malaysian film in Vietnam of all time with over RM800,000 at the box office since its release on March 31.

The film first premiered in Malaysia on March 8 and has since been screened in neighbouring countries such as Singapore, Brunei and Indonesia.

Earlier this year, Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil said the movie trailer was not suitable for viewing and requested the filmmakers to release a new edit following uproar from certain quarters mainly due to their outfits and character’s behaviour in the movie.

Terengganu had even banned the film screening for its “inappropriate” trailer.

Meanwhile, WebTVAsia and Pulau’s Cambodian distributor Westec Media signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop Cambodia’s first YouTube-certfied digital creator network under the WebTVAsia MCN umbrella.