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Exclusive: Indonesian animated feature Jumbo has become the highest-grossing Southeast Asian animation of all time.

Produced by Visinema Studios, the film has earned over $8M at the Indonesian box office since its March 31 release, surpassing the record previously held by Malaysia’s Mechamato Movie, which grossed approximately $7.68 million in 2022.

Jumbo has racked up more than 3.2 million admissions since its release, with nearly 1 million admissions recorded across the April 12 to 13 weekend.

This means that Jumbo has overtaken Hollywood title Moana 2 to become Indonesia’s second-highest-grossing animated title at the box office (Frozen 2 still remains the all-time frontrunner). Moana 2 recorded a total of 3.1 million admissions following its November 2024 release. Jumbo has surpassed that milestone in two weeks.

Jumbo follows Don, an orphan bullied as “Jumbo” due to his large body. He has a storybook, inherited from his parents, which is full of drawings and magical stories. Don later encounters Meri,...

Jumbo, an animated feature from Indonesia’s Visinema Studios, has become the highest-grossing Indonesian animated film after drawing over one million admissions within its first seven days in theaters. The film opened on March 31 and has since overtaken the 2017 title Si Juki The Movie: Panitia Hari Akhir, which previously held the record with 642,312 admissions.

The story centers on Don, a boy overlooked by his peers, who plans to perform a stage play based on a fairytale book left by his late parents. His plans are interrupted when a bully steals the book, leading him to cross paths with a mysterious child searching for her family. The film’s focus on friendship, grief, and determination has drawn broad attention, especially in a market where horror titles account for more than half of theatrical releases.

Producer Anggia Kharisma described the public response as deeply personal for the creative team. “These numbers aren’t just about ticket sales.

Indonesian animated feature “Jumbo” has shattered local box office records, becoming the highest-grossing Indonesian animated film of all time after reaching 1 million admissions in just seven days following its theatrical premiere.

The Visinema Studios production, which opened on March 31, surpassed the previous record held by “Si Juki The Movie: Panitia Hari Akhir” (2017), which drew 642,312 admissions and remained unbeaten for eight years.

The film follows Don, a young boy often underestimated by his peers who sets out to perform in a talent show with a stage play inspired by a treasured fairytale book left behind by his late parents. His plans are disrupted when a bully steals the book, and Don unexpectedly meets a mysterious young child seeking help to reunite with her parents.

“These numbers aren’t just about ticket sales. They represent love, hope, and trust from the people for our own local stories,” said Anggia Kharisma, producer of “Jumbo.

The animation industry in Asia has expanded significantly in recent years and has a key role to play in boosting the entertainment sector in coming years. Mainland China in particular, where animation has been given a major lift by the success of “Ne Zha 2”, which has taken over $2 billion and become the highest-grossing animated film in history, and the fifth-highest-grossing film ever.

“’Ne Zha’ is going to be the best performing animation in the world – in the future we will see a bigger role for Chinese animation and big box office is awaiting us,” Catherine Ying, president of Pearl Studios, told a panel on the animation industry at Hong Kong FilMart.

“Ne Zha 2” is based on “Journey to the West,” one of China’s four great classical novels, and toon houses in China are likely to mine ancient texts for further content. Pearl is expecting to release “Eight...

Indonesia’s Visinema Group has lined up its first original animated feature Jumbo for release during the week-long Hari Raya Puasa holiday in late March.

Hari Raya Puasa, which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, is a key celebration for Muslims worldwide. In Indonesia, the holiday can be extended to nine days, making it a lucrative release window for the cinemas.

Produced by Visinema Studios for first-time feature director Ryan Adriandhy, Jumbo follows a chubby boy, nicknamed Jumbo, who embarks on an adventure along with a girl spirit to look for a stolen book, written by his late parents.

The 19th edition of Indonesia’s Jogja-Netpac Asian Film Festival (Jaff) was its most successful one yet and the inaugural Jaff Market proved to be an auspicious debut. Variety was present to report on both.

To put matters in context, films from Indonesia now routinely get selected and win prizes at major international festivals. The local market in Indonesia, which has the fourth-largest population in the world with 283 million, is rapidly expanding with homegrown productions accounting for a significant share of the local box office. Indonesia is also bolstering its cultural policies that include an annual $13 million international co-production grant.

Here are some key takeaways from the festival and market:

An energetic and buzzing festival and market

“Energy” and “buzzing” were the two words most bandied about during the festival and market and with good reason too. Despite running on similar dates to the 25th edition of neighboring Singapore’s...

The youngest Indonesian director to have won the Citra Award for Best Picture at the Indonesian Film Festival in 2014, Angga Dwimas Sasongko, finds immense optimism seeing the rapid growth of Indonesian cinema in a year that has seen it claim a significant market share locally.

“It’s about time,” he told Variety, seeing the enthusiasm at the ongoing Jogja-Netpac Asian Film Festival and the inaugural Jaff Market.

“We have a strong market here in Southeast Asia. Indonesia is fortunate enough to not just recover [from the pandemic downturn], but find its community [as an artform],” Sasongko, co-founder of content powerhouse Visinema Pictures, said.

The award winning director has championed Indonesian cinema along with his wife, Anggia Kharisma through their production studio for years. “In the last five years, the quality of Indonesian films have grown so much,” Sasongko said.

“This has to do with accessibility too. Cinemas have expanded to many more cities now, gaining a new...