Munafik: Melawan Iblis took RM2 million in six days in Malaysia

Munafik: Melawan Iblis made RM2 million in its first six days in Malaysian cinemas after opening on 1 October, the New Straits Times reports. The Indonesian remake of Syamsul Yusof's 2016 hit is in its third week and still listed at 113 cinemas.

A strong start on both sides of the Strait

NST also reports that the film recorded nearly 150,000 admissions on its opening day in Indonesia on 3 September. Datuk Yusof Haslam, the executive producer, told the paper that "the film has received strong support from Malaysian audiences", calling it an encouraging start. Director Guntur Soeharjanto offered his own measure of it: it is, he told NST, the first horror film he has made that can actually make an audience weep.

Acha Septriasa, and a split verdict

NST says Acha Septriasa, who plays Fitri, has drawn wide praise on social media from Malaysian viewers. Kosmo's critic agrees about her: his review of 10 October calls her the film's saviour, its MVP. The same review finds the clearest weakness in how the script develops, while concluding that the remake remains a religious horror film with strengths of its own. Arya Saloka, who plays Ustaz Adam, told Utusan he went back to learning from the Iqra' books to improve his tajwid and memorisation for the role.

Fewer halls from Thursday

The week's new releases are taking screens. This site's listings show 573 Munafik sessions today, Wednesday, falling to 157 on Thursday 15 October as Jailer 2, Pemuja Syaitan and Street Fighter open. Through Tuesday 20 October there are still 1,294 sessions in all, at GSC, TGV, Paragon, Mega, 10 Star and four more chains. Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Johor hold the most, and Kedah, with 124, is fourth.

For anyone who has been meaning to see it, that is the practical news: from Thursday the choice of times shrinks to about a quarter of today's, and evening sessions will be the first to fill.

Where it holds on

From Thursday it is at 82 cinemas, down from 113 today, and at 76 on Saturday. The cinemas keeping the most sessions this week are Paragon Alor Star Mall with 37, TGV Au2 Setiawangsa with 35 and Paragon KTCC Mall in Kuala Terengganu with 31. It is one of the few films this week with nearly as many sessions in Sabah, 91, as in Sarawak, 84.

Before you book

The chains classify it 16 and list it at 105 minutes, in Bahasa Indonesia with subtitles. The Munafik: Melawan Iblis page shows where it is still on, and the showtimes page lists each cinema's remaining Munafik sessions, each linking to the chain's booking page.