LOCAL film “Pulau” produced by WebTVAsia has become the first Malaysian movie to collect RM700,000 in Cambodia after its June 22 screening.

The film, distributed by Cambodian company Westec Media, became the 2023 most watched horror film in the country.

WebTVAsia chief executive officer Fred Chong described the success as a great achievement for the local film industry.

“The number is really high considering Cambodia’s population is 16.6 million. To get that amount of collection even in Malaysia itself, not all films can do it.

“It is an unexpected achievement. In Vietnam, it was RM800,000, but the population of that country is almost 100 million,” he said.

Chong said the chance to distribute “Pulau” in Cambodia came after he attended the Cambodia International Film Festival.

“Pulau was the only Malaysian film shown at the event. I visited (the country) for the first time and saw there was room for (our) films to penetrate the market,” he said.

WebTVAsia signed a memorandum of cooperation with Westec Media.

Chong said WebTVAsia has plans to strengthen the creative content industry.

“The content creation industry is very big (in Cambodia). We at WebTVAsia want to expand our network to become a strategic partner to further advance the industry,” he said.

Several “Pulau” actors, including Sanjna Suri, Siew Pui Yi, and Mark O’Dea, were among those present at the press conference. – July 24, 2023.