KUALA LUMPUR: Director Syamsul Yusof is beaming with pride, as his blockbuster historical film Mat Kilau: Kebangkitan Pahlawan's collections are now close to RM100 million.
"Mat Kilau continues to reign in cinemas. It's the 'king of films' in Malaysia right now, with ticket sales as high as RM97 million," said Syamsul in an interview with Harian Metro Online today.
"This means, we can now compete with Hollywood productions. I have never doubted that."
Syamsul, who describes himself as an "eternal optimist", said that he had always believed that the time would come when Malaysian films could compete with American films in the All Time International Malaysia Box Office chart.
"By God's grace, Mat Kilau, our very own film, has overtaken Hollywood icons as Star Wars, The Avengers, Jurassic World, Spider-Man and Transformers in terms of box office takings," said Syamsul.
"Thank you viewers, thank you supporters. You've made the impossible happen. Keep up the good work, and continue to support Malaysian films!"
Mat Kilau, which premiered in Malaysian cinemas on June 23, is also being screened in 200 cinemas around Indonesia beginning Aug 31.
Made at a cost of RM8 million, the film is loosely based on the life of Mat Kilau, a Malay nobleman and warrior from Pahang who fought British colonialism during the 1890s.
Mat Kilau stars Datuk Adi Putra, Datuk Jalaludin Hassan, Fattah Amin, Beto Kusyairy, Johan Asa'ri, Khir Rahman, Yayan Ruhian, Datuk Rahim Razali, Nam Ron and Wan Hanafi Su.
The film will be screened on Netflix on Friday, which is Malaysia Day.