Netflix film viewership in the Asia-Pacific region was up nearly 20% year-on-year in 2024, it was revealed at a showcase event hosted by the streaming giant in Tokyo today (April 21).
Minyoung Kim, Netflix’s vice president of content for APAC, also said that features from the region appeared in its non-English film weekly top 10 more than titles from any other region last year.
The figures were shared at an event highlighting the streamer’s upcoming slate of films from across APAC, including titles from Japan, South Korea, India, Indonesia and Thailand.
Netflix also highlighted its initiatives for hiring and training local talent, including its partnership with the Korean Academy of Film Arts (KAFA) to host masterclasses for emerging filmmakers; its ongoing VFX academy, also in Korea; and its “Reel Life” on-the-job training programmes in Thailand and Indonesia.
The showcase did not reveal any new APAC film titles, having previously unveiled slates for Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia and India, but did go into further detail about the streamer’s approach and strategy in territories.
Shin Takahashi, Netflix director of Japan live-action titles, spoke about action thriller Bullet Train Explosion, which debuts on the service this week, and upcoming “boys love” (BL) drama 10Dance, coming in December.
“We aim to push the boundaries of the Japanese film industry – investing in unconventional and innovative projects that other studios might shy away from,” said Takahashi. He explained that Netflix chooses properties based not on how popular the original IP (e.g manga) might be, but whether the stories are unique and distinctive.
During a Q&A, Takahashi told Screen that filming the likes of bullet trains for Bullet Train Explosion and crowded entertainment districts for last year’s manga adaptation City Hunter in Japan, where it is rare to receive such levels of cooperation, was achieved through a long pre-production process and extended, detailed conversations with the managers of those locations.
Takahashi also spoke about the perception of Japanese films abroad, stating that one large challenge is that only a select number of filmmakers have traditionally been acknowledged on the film festival circuit.
“Netflix’s vision of delivering titles to the global audience and sharing that vision with the creators is the thing that allows us to bring those titles to the global audience, and I think that is something that is really important for the Japanese industry,” said Takahashi.
He added that following the release of City Hunter, sales of the original manga (including digital and physical releases) surged 900%.
South Korean trio
Vincent Kim, director of content for South Korea, shared multiple upcoming titles, including romance Lost In Starlight, which marks the first Korean-language animated feature ever produced by the streamer; Wall To Wall, a thriller about unidentified noises that haunt a man living in a typical Korean apartment; and Love Untangled, a high school romantic comedy set in 1990s Busan.
Han Ji-won, director of Lost In Starlight, said the Korean animation industry, which has traditionally been seen as a subcontractor for the likes of Japan and the US, is coming into its own.
“Korean animation has not been so popular across the world but we have a lot of great talent,” said Han. “I hope my film inspires more animation movies. Korean has our own unique visuals, so we can add a little twist to what’s been seen before.”
Wall To Wall director Kim Tae-joon explained that his film takes place in an apartment that measures 84sqm, a common size for South Korean apartments. “Recently neighbour noise complaints are a common social issue, so it was quite an intriguing subject that I’ve also personally experienced myself,” said the filmmaker.
Namkoong Sun, director of Love Untangled, said that “East Asian rom-coms and western ones are quite different, but this meets somewhere in between” and that as Korean teenagers are struggling to navigate an uncertain future during a time of ongoing challenges, she wanted to create a film that embodies “joy and purity”.
Guy Richie influence
The Indian films detailed at today’s event included Toaster, a comedy-thriller starring and produced by Rajkummar Rao through his production company Kampa Films, which he and his wife Patralekhaa unveiled earlier this year. The film stars Rao as a man who gives a toaster as a wedding present then tries to get it back after the wedding is called off, leading to a “web of secrets and surprises”.
“I’m a big fan of this genre, like the films of Guy Richie,” said Rao. “When we saw a one-page about Toaster we thought it could really unique, the kind of film which we don’t make enough in our country.”
Further titles included Aap Jaisa Koi, about a shy teacher in his 40s who cannot believe it when a beautiful French teacher in her 30s shows interest in him, and Inspector Zende, a 1980s-set cop-vs-serial killer story based on true events. Aap Jaisa Koi (Someone Like You) is co-produced by Dharmatic Entertainment and directed by Vivek Soni, while Inspector Zende is directed by Chinmay Mandlekar.
Ruchikaa Kapoor Sheikh, director of original films for India, said that on Netflix in India, “nearly half of the viewing is from film, which is one of the highest globally”. She added that in the past year alone, an Indian film was featured in Netflix’s global top 10 list of non-English titles every week.
In a pre-recorded message, Malobika Banerji, senior director of content for SEA, previewed upcoming zombie films Ziam and The Elixir from Thailand and Indonesia respectively, and said that both films are “fused with local storytelling”.
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