Kudrat 1968 still on the most Malaysian screens as Godzilla and Suriya's Scene arrive

Kudrat 1968: High Council goes into its second weekend on more Malaysian cinema screens than any other film, even with Godzilla Minus Zero, Ramayana and Suriya's Scene newly arrived. The site's listings for the 7 days from Friday 6 November give the High Council prequel 4,137 sessions at 132 cinemas, just ahead of Godzilla Minus Zero's 4,094 at 127.

4,137 sessions at 132 cinemas in week two

That count comes from the site's own day files for 6 to 12 November, across 12 chains, from GSC and TGV to Dadi and Grand Cineplex. A local film holding the widest release in its second week, against a Japanese monster sequel with 271 IMAX sessions, is the story of the weekend.

The two big Tamil releases sit some way behind. Scene, which opens today, has 2,254 sessions at 95 cinemas, and the Tamil version of Ramayana: Rise of a Legend has 2,253 at 109.

RM3 million before the doors opened

Malay Mail reported that advance ticket sales had reached RM3 million in figures announced on 27 October, two days before the film opened on 29 October. The paper also reported that tickets for the Malam Manifesto premiere sold out in under an hour, and special fan screenings within 5 minutes.

The demand has a history. According to Malay Mail, the 2023 series Projek: High Council became Astro's top on-demand title, and the 2024 spin-off Kahar: Kapla High Council reportedly grossed around RM13 million.

One story told across a series and a film

Kudrat 1968 is the end of a story that began on the small screen. The Star reports that 4 episodes are on Sooka, Astro X3 and Netflix. Malay Mail says they began streaming on 11 September and reportedly held No. 1 on Netflix Malaysia for 6 consecutive weeks.

Astro Shaw head Raja Jastina Raja Arshad told The Star the series and film were developed and filmed concurrently, as one continuous experience. Director Zulaikha Zakaria told the paper she hoped fans would come for the full experience:

I hope people will want to watch the finale in the cinema

Set in 1968 at the boarding school Kolej Ungku Deramat, the film follows Zarif Ghazzi as Ungku Abbas, the abandoned son of the school's founder, who clashes with head prefect Tengku Uda, played by Mierul Aiman. The Star says Zulaikha and the writers spent about 6 months researching how people spoke in that era, and about 3 months building or sourcing period props.

The bullying debate and the 16 rating

The film has drawn criticism on social media that it encourages bullying. The Star, carrying a Bernama report, quotes Zulaikha as saying every episode shows the immediate consequences, and that "violence is not a solution". Raja Jastina said the tagline 'Darah Kita Sama' points to the film's real subject, social class and the class divide. The film is rated 16.

Getting a seat this weekend

Malay Mail notes that the film continues the episodes' story rather than standing alone, so newcomers may want to stream the 4 episodes first. The film runs 113 minutes.

For night owls, 345 of this week's sessions start at 23:00 or later, and 134 begin after midnight at 76 cinemas, the latest at 01:45. Premium halls carry it too: 63 MAXX, 59 BIG and 31 Onyx sessions in the same 7 days.

Cast, synopsis and trailer are on the Kudrat 1968: High Council film page, and you can find every Kudrat 1968 session by cinema.