No box office pressure for ‘Polis Evo 2’

PETALING JAYA, Oct 13 ― With the box office successes of films like Hantu Kak Limah, Munafik and Paskal, Astro Malay Language Business vice-president Datuk Khairul Anwar Salleh has put no pressure on Polis Evo 2.

In 2015, Polis Evo became a box office hit with a collection of RM17.8 million.

And this year, Munafik and Hantu Kak Limah exceeded Astro Shaw's expectations with a box collection of RM40 and RM37 million, respectively.

“We were excited with the successes. With Polis Evo 2, I don't see it as a pressure but I see it as a challenge for us to gauge how far can we push a local film in the industry.

“I'm confident fans are waiting for the sequel and I'm sure they will be entertained.

“It's a production that you have never seen before,” Khairul told Malay Mail, during the launch of Polis Evo 2 yesterday.

The film, which stars Shaheizy Sam and Zizan Razak along with talents from Indonesia and Malaysia, is set Astro Shaw's first film to be shown in Indonesia.

“When we made film, we were very sure of what we wanted.

“It had to be better than the first one, the action sequences must be bigger to penetrate the Indonesian market.”

Khairul is also proud that the box office collection for local films are almost on par with those from Hollywood.

He said Munafik's RM40 million collection is close to the RM68 million collection for Avengers: Infinity War.

“Malaysian films have been able to compete with some of the foreign films.

“We need to keep making movies and getting back the trust of local fans,” he said, adding that he targeted Polis Evo 2 to rake in RM30 million in box office collections.

Also at the launch, members of the media was treated to a live performance of the film's theme song Sang Saka Biru by Joe Flizzow, Altimet, SonaOne and Aliff.

Polis Evo 2 will be shown at local cinemas from November 22 while Indonesia must wait for a December release.