There were cheers of jubilation and gasps of disbelief as Thai cinema found itself awash with excitement in 2023. This has been the most successful year for mainstream Thai movies in a decade, a box-office triumph far exceeding all expectations. To many, the 2023 coup de theatre calls for celebration. "We are back!" cried optimistic pundits. But also: "Really? Is it just a one-time cinema party and can we keep the ball rolling?"
The darkest horse of the year, leaving Hollywood tentpoles in the dust, is the top-grossing film of 2023. Thiti Srinual's Sapparer (The Undertaker) scored a whopping nationwide haul of 720 million baht. Set in Isan and made by a group of Isan filmmakers, The Undertaker was supposed to be a regional hit -- a film in the Isan dialect about a group of local male idlers confronting the big question of death and worldly attachments -- that ended up striking a chord with a much wider swathe of audiences. The film achieved that magical status all pop-cultural items aspire to -- a hype, one that kept growing and inspired the fear of missing out even among those who hardly frequented movie theatres. The 720 million baht gross is the highest a Thai film has made since the reported billion-baht haul by Pee Mak in 2013.
The astonishing success of The Undertaker is good news enough. But this year was exceptional because there are three other Thai films that surpassed the 100 million baht milestone, and two more that came really close. Horror remains a bankable genre, but other big hits relied on different sentiments and in effect showed a more diversified industry.
Raking in a hefty 470 million baht, Taweewat Wantha's Tee Yod (Death Whisperer) is a ghost story that offers a wild ride in which the protagonist axes his way through a swarm of demons. 4Kings II is a sequel about vocational school hooliganism and slum life that is showing and has so far made almost 200 million baht, a bigger hit than the original film. Earlier in the year, Kongkiat Khomsiri's Khun Pan 3 scored around 120 million baht and generated a buzz around the return of the Thai-style cop-sorcerer-superhero Khun Pan.
Tee Yod.
(The biggest Hollywood release of the year was Fast X, earning 300 million baht, far behind The Undertaker and Tee Yod. The second and third biggest Hollywood films of 2023 were John Wick 4 at 198 million baht, and Guardians Of The Galaxy 3 at 180 million baht.)
Two other Thai films that brushed the 100 million baht mark were Sophon Sakdapisit's Ban Chao Buchayan (Home For Rent), a possession story in which a little girl and her father are targeted by a witch cult, and Piyakarn Bootprasert's Long Live Love, a bittersweet tale of marriage rarely seen in mainstream Thai cinema of late.
The five leading Thai films altogether brought in more than 1.6 billion baht at the box-office. It is likely the combined box-office of local films released this year will touch 2 billion baht. The market share of domestic titles is likely to reach 40% or higher, a spectacular rise from the usual 15-18% in most years when Hollywood blockbusters ruled local theatres. (Speaking of box-office figures, however, the numbers quoted here are estimates gleaned from cinema operators. Thailand doesn't have official, auditable box-office records, something any standardised film industry from Korea to the US needs.)
Diverse inspirations
Besides box-office ballyhoo, Thai filmmakers also ventured to cook up new recipes, to varying degree of success. This was not just from the independent film community, always the vanguard of risky ideas, but also from commercial studios trying to pave new paths.
A good example is Man Suang, a period piece set in the 18th-century leisure house of Old Bangkok. Starring actors from boy-love series who command huge followings, Man Suang is a fine attempt at aestheticising a mass-appeal product into an expensive, Siamese-Shakespearean detective drama complete with murder, intrigue, gravitas and lavish set pieces (the script was written by playwrights). It was a mid-range hit, but its intention to raise the bar is even more admirable (the film was directed by Bhanbhassa Dhunbhien, Chatchai Ketnust and Krisda Withayakachorndej).
Two independent films, both still showing in cinemas, are packages of controversial (in Thai terms) ideas and subject matter. Sorayos Prapapan's Arnold Is A Model Student is a cynical, black satire of Thai high-school system where conservatism, corruption and hypocrisy are evidently self-destructing. The film is an ideological offshoot from the youth-led protests in 2020 when students rose up against what they perceived as outdated values that no longer functioned in the real world -- the kids finally have the film made to remember their generation by. The other indie star comes with a totally different temperament. Solids By The Seashore by Patiparn Boontarig is gentle and soft-spoken, yet it touches on the delicate issues of female relationships, Islam and ecological disease -- all of these are rarely discussed in Thai cinema.
Three other first-time feature filmmakers made their debut in 2023. Ther Kab Chan Kab Chan (Me & You & You) by twin filmmakers Wanwaew and Waewwan Hongwiwat is a lovely coming-of-age story about (guess what?) twin teenage girls from a sleepy district in Sakon Nakhon province. Then there's Atta Hemwadee's Puen Mai Sanit (Not Friends), a high-school comedy drama about a group of friends trying to complete a short film -- it gets chosen as Thailand's submission to the Oscars' International Feature category.
Sapparer (The Undertaker).unknown
Stream of consciousness
There is another reason to judge 2023 as a vintage year in Thai cinema (depending on what we define as "cinema"). Either fed up with box-office uncertainties or consciously opting for a new mode of expression, several Thai filmmakers dropped their wares straight to steaming services (Netflix and Prime), and most of these "TV movies" display all the integrity and production values that could have carried them onto the cinema screen handsomely. Young as well as veteran filmmakers seem to embrace the freedom and higher budgets from streaming studios which facilitate their storytelling.
Whipping up the biggest buzz was Hunger, a haute-cuisine drama about a rising star-chef and her authoritarian mentor (think Whiplash and perhaps The Menu, but not Babette's Feast). Directed by Kongdej Jaturantrasmee, Hunger is a class satire and showcase of culinary sophistication that went on to become, according to Netflix, a worldwide chart-topper.
Two master directors of the late 1990s generation also chose to go straight to Netflix. Wisit Sasanatieng's The Murderer brings back the director's signature bright colours to an Isan murder story in which a clueless British son-in-law is roped into homicidal chaos thanks to his wife's moonshine-swigging extended family. Meanwhile, Nonzee Nimibutr launched Monrak Nak Pak (Once Upon A Star) in October, a nostalgia-driven road movie about a team of voice artists and their mobile film projection unit.
Perhaps the most surprising title to show up on Netflix is arthouse hot property Doi Boy by Nontawat Numbenchapol. A trans-border drama about a Shan migrant working in a gay bar in Chiang Mai, the film premiered with considerable fanfare at Busan International Film Festival in October and duly raised expectations -- then it was acquired by Netflix and deprived Thai film-goers of a chance to watch it on the big-screen.
Hunger. Yupanakorn Boonprem (Aom)ยุพนากร บุญเปรม (ออม)/Netflix
On Prime, Prueksa Amaruji's Congrats My Ex is a romantic comedy that features two major stars, Bella Ranee and Vachirawit Chivaaree, in a story about a Thai wedding planner hired to organise the big day for her ex, an Indian man. Had the film been released in regular cinemas, it had the potential to become a hit thanks to its superstar power. But these days, straight-to-streaming has become the new consciousness for many Thai studios and filmmakers.
Once Upon A Star.
Doi Boy. Neramitnung Film/Netflix
