South Korean zombie thriller ‘Colony’ hits RM1.4m on opening day as Malaysia becomes first SEA market to screen film

KUALA LUMPUR, May 23 — Director Yeon Sang-ho’s (Train to Busan, Hellbound) latest zombie thriller, Colony, is off to a strong start at the Malaysian box office, crossing the RM1.4 million mark.

The latest South Korean zombie flick held an advance screening in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday at GSC One Utama, coinciding with its release in South Korea.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the film recorded 199,768 cinema admissions in South Korea on its opening day, citing data from the Korean Film Council.

Malaysia became the first South-east Asian country to officially screen Colony beginning yesterday, drawing a positive early response.

Yeon’s latest feature began filming in early 2025 and wrapped later that same year.

The film premiered in the Midnight Screenings section at the Cannes Film Festival on May 15, 2026, before securing distribution deals in more than 120 international territories.

Starring Jun Ji-hyun, Koo Kyo-hwan, Ji Chang-wook, Shin Hyun-been, Kim Shin-rock and Go Soo, Colony follows a group of survivors trapped inside a building after an unknown infection spreads rapidly.

Cut off from the outside world, they must fight to survive against infected individuals who continuously mutate into increasingly dangerous forms.

Yeon previously shared in an interview that the zombies in Colony represent modern anxieties in an era where rapid information exchange, collective consciousness and artificial intelligence (AI) are gradually replacing individuality.

The film reimagines the zombie genre with a chilling modern twist, delivering a breed of horror audiences have never encountered before.

South Korea’s zombie genre has no doubt risen to prominence since 2016’s Train to Busan, praised for its intense suspense, emotional storytelling and human drama.

Colony aims to bring a fresh perspective to the genre and is currently screening nationwide.

المصدر: Malay Mail