Asia industry experts predict mixed fortunes for film’s future in the region

With the rise of streaming and other forms of entertainment post-pandemic, Asian film markets are facing unprecedented challenges – but there are bright spots to be found among the gloom.

That was the main takeaway from the initial summit of The A, a new forum at the Asian Contents & Film Market created to “lay the groundwork for shared prosperity in Asian cinema,” said ACFM director Ellen Y.D. Kim during the summit’s opening remarks.

The session, titled Key Reflections on Asian Film Trends and moderated by Lorna Tee, secretary general of the Asian Film Alliance Network, featured a data-rich look at recent cinema trends throughout Asia, including South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines.

South Korea

The South Korean industry continues to face significant challenges. In the first half of 2025, overall box office revenue in the country was down 33% year-on-year, said Yun Ha, director of the policy R&D team at the Korean Film Council (Kofic). In addition, producers have become more conservative, shifting toward mid-budget projects rather than tentpoles. Talent is migrating from films to streaming and television, sparking concerns over future production capacity.

Conversely, growing international interest in Korea as evidenced by the success of Netflix feature KPop Demon Hunters and scoring local hits in Indonesia and Vietnam, Yun said that Korea is increasingly embracing international co-productions.

“Our target is not just the Korean market. We’re seeing a trend of films and IP going abroad,” said Yun, who predicted that challenges would continue through 2027.

Taiwan

Jennifer Huang, senior manager of international business at TAICCA, shared that 70% of Taiwanese adults mainly watch audiovisual content on phones, a figure that signals a major challenge for cinemas.

Huang said that 57 local films were released in 2024, in line with previous years, and that Taiwanese films made $7.9m (NT$241m) during the first half of 2025, representing a 8.21% market share – a slight increase year-on-year. However, no local films, made the top 10 from January to June, which was dominated by Hollywood films and Japanese animation. The highest grossing local film was Lovesick, which earned $2m (NT$62m).

Like many other Asian markets, Taiwan is embracing co-productions, including films like Japan co-production Dear Stranger and Macao-Thailand feature Girlfriends, both of which are playing at BIFF. Though France is the country with the largest number of TAICCA-sponsored co-productions – 19 to date - Asia remains TAICCA’s largest partner when counted as a whole.

Thailand

Chalida Uabumrungjit, director of the Thai Film Archive, highlighted that Thai’s turbulent political situation (a new cabinet was approved just yesterday) means funding is on potentially shaky ground. However, Uabumrungjit was cautiously optimistic about the situation, noting an ongoing box office rebound that began in 2022. This was “driven by a few landmark films that proved quality Thai cinema could compete,” she said.

In 2024, local films earned more than imports for the first time, capturing 54% of total grosses. Some of those successes include the Death Whisperer series, of which 2024’s Death Whisperer 2 is now the highest-grossing Thai film of all time.

However, Uabumrungjit noted that the revival is a fragile one, supported by a few hits rather than a consistent slate. One positive is the creation of the Thailand Creative Culture Agency (THACCA), which introduced a $6.4m (THB220m) film fund this year. The fund has so far provided grants to 86 projects. The budget for next year was approved before the dissolution of the previous government, but it remains to be seen what the cabinet will do going forward.

Indonesia

Indonesia is bucking the negative trends seen elsewhere in Asia, reports Sigit Prabowo, co-founder of Cinepoint and Fx Iwan, CEO of investment advisory firm Jagartha.

In 2024, there were 81 million admissions for local films, which represented 65% of all tickets sold. This year, saw the release of the local animation Jumbo, which is now the highest-grossing Indonesian film of all time with more than 10 million admissions.

Fx said one large factor in people continuing to visit cinemas in Indonesia is low ticket prices compared to its neighbours. Tickets are the equivalent of $2-3, as compared to $7-10 elsewhere. Cinema admissions are likely to reach 100 million by 2026, representing roughly 10% annual growth, said Prabowo.

The horror genre shows lasting strength in Indonesia, representing four of the 10 highest-grossing films of all time in the country.

Fx noted that while in-country trends are good, Indonesia should increase co-productions to increase both production quality, budgets and grow the expertise of its local crews so that Indonesian films can compete on the world stage.

“We don’t want to lose our momentum,” said Fx. “We need to invite in more participants and level up.”

Philippines

The situation in the Philippines is almost the opposite from that in Indonesia, claimed Jose Javier Reyes, chairman and CEO of the Film Development Council of the Philippines. While the country has a rich filmmaking history, with some 150 films produced every year about 40 years ago, cinemagoing was declining even before the pandemic and has not recovered since.

One large factor is ticket prices: about $7 (400 pesos), while the minimum wage in the country is roughly $12 (700 pesos) per day. To that end, the Film Development Council is working with exhibitors to offer discounts to films like this year’s Sunshine. Reyes also detailed new distribution strategies, like the simultaneous release of last year’s Hello, Love, Again in the Philippines and several countries worldwide, aiming at the Filipino diaspora.

Concluding the summit, moderator Tee urged governments and organisations throughout Asia to compile and release transparent box office data.

“Numbers tell a story, guide us to what happened and what needs to happen next,” said Tee. “Analytics drive decision-making on the part of distributors. It’s key to help us grow our industries together.”