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Published on December 28, 2007

The good news for the Thai film industry is that the overall box office of Thai films grossed more than Bt1.5 billion, up 30 per cent from last year. This success is due largely to the two episodes of the King Naresuan epic. And we've also seen a number of other fascinating Thai movies.

The market share for Thai films shot to 46 per cent this year, up from 30 per cent last year.

"King Naresuan" scored Bt250 million, while the sequel grossed Bt253 million, followed by "The Bodyguard 2", which topped Bt100 million. Although most Thai box-office hits are slapstick comedies, some quality films did manage to attract a large number of viewers.

Of the top 10 films, six were comedies. This figure shows that Thai audiences still love to see funny movies. But there are signs that their preference is becoming more diversified.

"Ma-mah", about stray dogs, grossed more than Bt61 million, while "Final Score", a reality-style film based on the lives of high-school students, scored a satisfactory Bt25 million. The success of these movies shows there is room for quality and innovative Thai films.

Thai films saw both hits and misses. One of the biggest flops was "Opapatika". The movie earned only Bt41 million, even though it starred top action stars. Suwanun Kongying's "In Country Melody" and sexy icon Um Patcharapa's "Ghost Mother" also performed below expectations, this despite the fact that both films had all of the elements of a hit movie.

Some critically acclaimed films like "The Love of Siam" and "Chaiya", the latter showcasing traditional Thai-boxing techniques, also flopped.

The biggest box office draw for Hollywood films this year was "Spider-Man 3", which collected Bt211 million, followed by "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" (Bt200 million), "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" (Bt156 million) "The Transformers" (Bt142 million) and "Resident Evil: Extinction" (Bt100 million).

Next year should be another good one for Thai films. The third and final episode of the King Naresuan series is already creating a buzz. Another blockbuster film with a pirate theme from Nonzee Nimibutr is set to score big at the box office.

We'd also like to ask the cinemas to prolong the screening period of their films. These days, if you miss a film in the first week or so, chances are it will be withdrawn from the cinemas. And watching the very same movie on DVD is no consolation.

jeerawat@nationgroup.com

The Nation