The crime-fighting, almost mentally deranged Malaysian superhero, “Keluang Man”, has piqued nationwide interest with its all-out marketing, playing into the hype of superhero movies such as Thunderbolts and Superman. The idea of mixing Batman into a Malaysian concoction of a superhero could very well be a recipe for success, but would it reflect on the box office stats?
With three weeks in, Astro Shaw’s “Keluang Man” had reportedly collected a RM2.4 million gross in the last 18 days of showing. The chart prepared by FINAS lines up the list of Malaysian movies, including the likes of “Ejen Ali The Movie 2: Misi Satria” and “Gayong”.
According to reports, the production and marketing costs of the film amounted to RM13 million. Despite being under the Compulsory Screen Scheme and produced by a mega film company, Astro Shaw, the performance of the movie proved to be far from expectations. Reports also state that the movie had only attracted up to 141,000 viewers since its premiere on 29th May 2025.
Astro Shaw Head, Raja Jastina Raja Arshad, explains that despite its low viewership, the main focus of the movie is not solely to collect figures but is about paving a new direction for Malaysian films. “For us, this project is an effort to open a new path for local superhero films. “Keluang Man” is not just a collection, but about a new direction”, he adds.
Netizens were more than quick to chime in on why the reception was low, linking it to unsuitable premiere dates and lack of interest from younger generations. Twitter user @/duniainiboneka comments, “Generational gap. Gen Z and Gen Alpha don’t care about “Keluang Man”. They should have created an animation first to slowly introduce the concept to the new generation”. Another Twitter user @/al_harith comments, “Ejen Ali’s premiere timing was really good as it was during the school break. Mom and dads don’t really care if the movie isn’t good, as long as the kids have fun”.
A quick search on today’s reports from FINAS on the “Keluang Man” grossing shows that the film has gained over 1.3 million in a day, with a gross of RM3.8 million as of 19th June 2025. Could this be a step toward turning the tide for our Malaysian superhero?
Alyssa Gabrielle contributed to this article.
