December 19, 2024
SINGAPORE – Thai tear-jerker How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies has made the shortlist in the Best International Feature Film category at the 97th Academy Awards, it was announced in Los Angeles on Dec 17.
The film that became a sensation in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia joins 14 other non-English-language films on the shortlist.
The family drama about a cancer-stricken grandmother (Usha Seamkhum) and her scheming grandson (Putthipong “Billkin” Assaratanakul) is the first Thai movie to make the Oscars shortlist in the Best International Feature Film category, formerly known as Best Foreign Language Film.
It is also the only title from Asia among the top 15 picks. The entry from the United Kingdom, Santosh, is a Hindi-language film set in rural India.
Singapore’s entry to the category, La Luna, a Malay-language comedy-drama directed by Singaporean film-maker M. Raihan Halim, failed to make the cut.
The remaining contenders in the category are I’m Still Here (Brazil), Universal Language (Canada), Waves (Czech Republic), The Girl With The Needle (Denmark), Emilia Perez (France), The Seed Of The Sacred Fig (Germany), Touch (Iceland), Kneecap (Ireland), Vermiglio (Italy), Flow (Latvia), Armand (Norway), From Ground Zero (Palestine) and Dahomey (Senegal).
The final shortlist of five films will be announced on Jan 17. The winner in that category will be announced at the Oscars ceremony, to be held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on March 2.
In Oscars history, nine films from Asia have won in the category, with none coming from South-east Asia. Past winners include Japan’s Drive My Car (2021), South Korea’s Parasite (2019), Iran’s The Salesman (2016) and Taiwan’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000).
On the Instagram page of the studio behind the film, GDH 559, a spokesman called How To Make Millions’ inclusion in the shortlist an event that “makes history”.
“It is the first Thai film to successfully advance from a selection of 85 foreign films to be shortlisted as one of 15 contenders.”
The post continues to congratulate director Pat Boonnitipat, screenwriter Thodsapon “Ped” Thiptinnakorn, the producers, the main cast as well as the crew members.
“Thank you to all the viewers for your ongoing support of How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies.”
The film is the box-office champion of 2024 in its home country and has earned nearly US$50 million (S$67 million) globally.
In Singapore, it grossed $5.86 million, making it the highest-earning Thai film of all time and the highest-grossing Asian title of 2024.
Across South-east Asia, the film has set box-office records for a Thai production. It is also an outlier in the Thai film industry, a regional powerhouse known for its horror and comedy exports.
In an interview with the British publication The Financial Times, published on Dec 12 ahead of How To Make Millions’ release in the UK later in December, 34-year-old film-maker Pat said he was surprised that a drama-comedy about a Chinese-Thai family grappling with questions of filial responsibility, inheritance and patriarchal traditions would strike a chord with viewers across Asia.
He added: “Love and money so often become substituted for (each other). From when you are a child, you receive money in red packets from your elders and you start to associate that with love. When you grow up, you realise that maybe you’ve mixed some things up.”