‘Papa Zola The Movie’ rewrites Malaysia’s box-office history with record RM65m run

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 31 — Papa Zola The Movie isn’t just riding a wave — it’s rewriting the record books. 

The home-grown animated adventure has smashed past RM65 million, officially becoming the highest-grossing animated film in Malaysian history, overtaking heavy-hitters like Zootopia 2, Ne Zha 2 and even local favourite Ejen Ali The Movie 2. 

It now sits comfortably as Malaysia’s third biggest film of all time, behind only Mat Kilau and Blood Brothers.

The milestone was announced in a jubilant post on the film’s official Instagram account @papapipizola yesterday, simply declaring: “A million thanks for everyone’s support.

Its momentum has been unstoppable. Since opening on December 11, Papa Zola The Movie has held the No.1 spot for six weekends straight, elbowing aside Disney’s Zootopia 2 on debut and keeping major titles like Avatar: Fire and Ash, Anaconda and Back to the Past firmly in its rear-view. 

The hype was clear early on — its teaser trailer pulled in more than two million views in under 24 hours back in May.

This time, Papa Zola steps up from beloved side character to full-fledged leading man — after earlier appearances in BoBoiBoy The Movie (2016) and BoBoiBoy Movie 2 (2019). 

The film follows the earnest, overworked dad whose world spins off-axis when his daughter, Pipi, is abducted by aliens following a chance reunion with an old partner from the secret agency P.A.P.A (Protect and Prevent Agency). 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Papa Zola (@papapipizola)

Behind the film is Monsta Studios — led by director Nizam Abd Razak — in collaboration with Astro Shaw, which also steered local marketing and distribution. 

Monsta, formerly known as Animonsta, is the creative engine behind BoBoiBoy and Mechamato, two of Malaysia’s most recognisable animation exports.

Papa Zola The Movie opened simultaneously in Malaysia and Brunei on December 11 and hit Singapore the same week before rolling into Indonesia on January 23. 

Next up: India, Vietnam and the Middle East — including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Turkey — from April 2026.

Its success caps a strong run for Malaysian films and animation. Ejen Ali The Movie 2 racked up RM58.5 million last year. 

Meanwhile Skop Productions’ action thriller Blood Brothers hit RM73.6 million to become the No.2 local film of all time.

Mat Kilau still leads the pack with RM89.4 million.