'Badang' Reportedly Cost RM2.2 Million To Make. It Made Less Than RM69K In Its First Week
Not all publicity is good publicity.
By Samantha Khor — 26 Feb 2018, 01:23 PM
We gotta hand it to the marketing team behind the much-talked-about local superhero movie 'Badang'. Releasing the movie on the same week as Marvel's 'Black Panther'? That takes massive balls.
Unfortunately, it looks like the gamble didn't quite pay off. The movie - which reportedly cost a whoppin' RM2.2 million to make - only made RM68,816.17 in the box office on its first seven days of screening.
Out of six local films screened from 15 to 21 February, 'Badang' placed fifth in terms of box office earnings. In comparison, feel-good CNY feature 'A House of Happiness' topped the list, raking in RM928,511.03. Both movies were released on 15 February.
According to The Star, 'Badang' - which starred cosmetics entrepreneur turned singer-slash-actor Datuk Aliff Syukri in the titular role - reportedly cost RM2.2 million to produce.
The local flick has been getting less-than-stellar reviews from Malaysian critics and moviegoers alike since it was released last week, garnering itself a dismal 1.0 rating on IMDb
Aside from the Zhafran Tan's viral post that gave the movie a savage 0.5 out of 10 rating for "participation" points, reviews for the superhero flick on IMDb were no less scathing:
It probably didn't help that lead actor Datuk Aliff Syukri responded to criticism by ranting on social media, saying that his movie is better than 'Black Panther' and that people should be more appreciative of his talent
"You haven't even seen my film but you are already bashing it," the 31-year-old cosmetics millionaire said in a video posted on Instagram.
"It's tiring acting all day and night, but what I get in return are just insults, not praises. Appreciate my talent. Think of how you would you feel if you are in my place, don't just simply bash."
In turn, local industry players such as actors Que Haidar, Adibah Noor, and Arash Mohd took to social media to give their two cents on how the entrepreneur-turned-actor handled the situation
In promoting his upcoming movie, veteran actor Que Haidar wrote, "God willing, I will not scold Netizens to appreciate my talent nor ask them to praise my acting because I chose this voluntarily out of love for acting."
In the same Twitter thread, actress and singer Adibah Noor agreed with Que and took a dig a Aliff's perception of his acting "talent".
Meanwhile, actor Arash Mohd wrote a lengthy post on Facebook calling out "certain quarters" for using the entertainment industry to gain mileage for their business ventures, saying that it could affect other actors and actresses who are passionate about acting.
