KUALA LUMPUR: Local box office-smashing animated feature film Ejen Ali The Movie will be be making its screen debut in cinemas in the Republic of Uzbekistan tomorrow.
The film, produced by Primeworks Studios and Wau Animation, will be screened in over 25 cinemas in seven cities across the country.
The latest international release of Ejen Ali The Movie was made possible through a distribution partnership with Amex Media, a strategic partner representing Ejen Ali in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Russia territories, as well as World Pictures, a local film distributor in Uzbekistan.
In order to provide wider accessibility to audiences there, the thrilling animated film has been dubbed in Uzbek and Russian.
"Ever since the pandemic devastated the world and subsequently the cinema industry in 2020, we are now thrilled to bring Ejen Ali The Movie back to cinemas as it has always been one of our aims to promote top-notch Malaysian content and connect with more audiences across the world.
"Our thanks go to Amex Media and World Pictures for making it possible for us to release it on the big screen in Uzbekistan and in the local language so that a majority of the population is now able to enjoy the high-quality animation feature film without language barriers.
"The support from fans worldwide has truly been the driving force behind this and we can't wait for everyone to experience Ali's next chapter in Ejen Ali Season 3, coming soon in 2022," said Datuk Khairul Anwar Salleh, CEO of Media Prima Television Networks and Primeworks Studios in a statement today.
WAU Animation CEO and Ejen Ali director Usamah Zaid Yasin added: "Two years after the initial theatrical release of Ejen Ali The Movie, it is beyond our imagination to see Ejen Ali embarking on another mission at the cinemas."
"We are excited to have Amex Media and World Pictures on board for this release and hope that our film will be able to provide immersive entertainment with a heart for the Uzbek cinema audience.
"We hope Ejen Ali will win more supportive international fans with its unique character dynamics and the core theme of perseverance of the human spirit against impossible odds.
"We look forward to gaining new fans from this region and invite them all to be a part of Ali's next journey as a spy in the upcoming TV series' third season," he said.
In 2020, Amex Media localised two seasons of the Ejen Ali TV series into Russian and brought it to the audience via the most popular video-on-demand platforms in the CIS region, namely IVI, OKKO, KION, WINK, MEGAFON and PREMIER.
Amex Media Chief Operations Officer Ivan Agutenkov said: "Uzbekistan will be the first country in the Commonwealth of Independent States and Russia territories to release Ejen Ali The Movie in cinemas. As the strategic partner of Ejen Ali in this region, our next goal is to have a much wider theatrical release in Russia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine."
World Pictures CEO Pavel Nelin added: "We are happy to announce that we have produced a high-quality dubbing of Ejen Ali The Movie into the Uzbek language, and being the first ever Malaysian project that has been localised in this language."
"We are honoured to develop this opportunity in collaboration with Amex Media, Primeworks Studios and WAU Animation," he said.
With two million eyeballs tuned in weekly on TV3, Malaysia's largest free-to-air channel, and over three million subscribers on YouTube to-date, Ejen Ali is one of Asia's fastest-growing animation brands.
Debuting on Malaysian TV screens in 2016, the animated series has aired in over 50 countries, including on regional networks Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar, Disney Asia, Nickelodeon India, MNCTV in Indonesia and AlMajeed TV in the Middle East and North Africa.
The film has also charted up an impressive RM30 million at the box office in 2019 and on-demand platforms in Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Indonesia, making it Malaysia's highest-grossing animated film to date.
Ejen Ali Misi: Juang, Ejen Ali The Movie and Ejen Ali Seasons 1 and 2 are currently available for streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.