AFTER breaking box office records in Malaysia, historical action film Mat Kilau: Kebangkitan Pahlawan will be heading to Indonesian cinemas on August 31.
Among its cast of local and regional stars, Mat Kilau featured the skills of Indonesian action star Yayah Ruhian.
Made famous through bloody and intense action films The Raid and The Raid 2: Berandal, he has also been featured in international hits like Star Wars: The Force Awakens, even going so far as squaring off against Keanu Reeve in 2019’s John Wick 3: Parabellum. He appeared in Malaysian action film Wira, as well.
Mat Kilau broke local box office records, becoming the fastest film to collect RM47 million in 11 days.
To date, the film is close to collecting RM100 million domestically after playing for 40 days, making it the highest-grossing Malaysian film of all time, after Avengers: Endgame and Munafik 2 – the latter of which was also directed by Syamsul Yusof.
With its success, Mat Kilau also became a lightning rod for controversy as historians questioned its historical accuracy and its depiction of non-Malay characters, with civil society group United Sikhs Malaysia criticising its depiction of Sikhs in the employ of the British.
Despite that, the film has been a huge success for the Malaysian film industry, but it remains to be seen how well it will be received next door.
Munafik 2 was the highest grossing Malaysian film in Indonesia at the time, but horror is also a genre that normally translates across cultures and language. – The Vibes, August 15, 2022
