Black magic horror Confessions Of A Shaman has become the year’s second biggest film at the Thai box office after only five days on release, drawing huge crowds back to cinemas.
The feature took $910,000 (THB30m) on its opening day (August 12), a national holiday that marks both the Thai Queen Mother’s birthday and Mother’s Day. This was the biggest opening day for a Thai film this year, surpassing supernatural comedy drama The Undertaker 2, which opened with $480,000 (THB16m) in February, and horror comedy Pee Nak 5, which recorded $250,000 (THB8.2m) on its debut in March.
It continued to hold the top position from August 13-16, with takings of $2.57m (THB84.98m), putting holdover Spider-Man: Brand New Day and new release The End Of Oak Street in second and third place respectively. Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey and Chinese breakout hit Dear You rounded out the top five over the four-day period.
With a cume of $3.63m (THB120m) from its first five days, it is already the second biggest Thai film of 2026 to date, only behind The Undertaker 2’s $9.85m (THB326m).
Produced by M Studio, Confessions Of A Shaman marks the feature directorial debut of Nattanont Cholumpi and revolves around a young man consumed by rage who is determined to inherit black magic from a master shaman so he can avenge his mother’s death.
Few Thai hits have hit the mark at the box office this year. Spider-Man: Brand New Day and The Odyssey are two of the biggest international titles, with a cume of $13.5m (THB445.92m) and $7.4m (THB245.54m) respectively as of August 16.
“The success of a major Thai film is not simply the success of an individual title, but an important driving force for the wider industry,” said M Studio CEO Surachedh Assawaruenganun, who is also behind the blockbuster Death Whisperer trilogy.
“When strong Thai films bring audiences back to cinemas, they help generate momentum for the overall box office, build confidence across the industry – from producers and distributors to cinema operators – and bring Thai stories to audiences around the world.”
The film is showing in 2D as well as premium formats including IMAX and 4DX in Thailand.
Confessions Of A Shaman is based on a story that has recorded more than eight million views on YouTube through popular horror podcast The Ghost Radio. The radio station, where listeners can dial in to share their spooky tales, has also accumulated over eight million subscribers on YouTube.
The cast is toplined by Teeradetch Metawarayut of TV drama Game Of Succession, and Denise Jelilcha Kapaun from Death Whisperer and Death Whisperer 2. BamBam, a South Korea-based Thai singer from boy band Got7 with a massive fanbase, also makes a special appearance in his Thai film debut.
M Studio also handles international sales and introduced buyers to the film at the European Film Market (EFM) in February.
Box office source: Thailand Box Office, which collects box office revenue figures from all Major Cineplex cinemas nationwide, together with estimated revenue from other cinemas across all provinces in Thailand.
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