Indonesian Horror Market Offers $352.9M Opportunity for Taiwan

Indonesia generated $352.9 million in box office revenue in 2025, making it the largest film market in Southeast Asia. The figure comes from a K7 Media study presented by Trang Nguyen at the Taiwan Creative Content Fest in Taipei. The market size is 1.6 times larger than Vietnam's and five times the size of Thailand's. The sector has grown at a 5.1% compound annual rate, outpacing the Asia-Pacific average of 4.3%.

Local productions dominate the Indonesian screens. In 2025, Indonesian titles accounted for 43% of all releases but captured 64% of admissions. These local films sold 82.6 million tickets, more than double the 36.9 million tickets sold by 100 U.S. releases. Other Asian imports performed poorly, with 27 Japanese films drawing 3.3 million admissions and 61 Korean titles pulling in 2 million.

Horror is the most produced genre for cinemas in the country. Five of the ten most-attended Indonesian films since 2011 are horror pictures. Recent successful titles have mixed scares with comedy or drama elements. The study highlighted the 2022 film KKN di Desa Penari and the recent Taiwan-Indonesia collaboration The Rope Curse 4. Foreign horror titles also influence the market, as seen when the Korean film Exhuma boosted theatrical interest in Korean cinema in 2024.

Remakes provide another entry point for content. The Indonesian version of the Korean film Miracle in Cell No. 7 sold 5.8 million tickets in 2022. A local adaptation of the Thai horror-comedy Pee Mak, titled Kang Mak from Pee Mak, drew 4.9 million viewers in 2024. A film version of the 2016 Korean series Descendants of the Sun is currently in production for a 2027 release.

The television landscape is led by five commercial groups, including MNC Group, Emtek/SCM, and Trans Media. Soap operas, known locally as sinetron, remain the core of Indonesian TV series. These serials often run for hundreds of episodes and air daily or several nights a week. Recent examples include RCTI's Terikat Janji, which launched in April 2026, and Indosiar's Merangkai Kisah Indah, which began in July 2025.

Streaming platforms are reshaping viewing habits. Vidio, the country's largest platform by reach, has partnered with Wattpad to adapt web novels into series. Netflix, which arrived in 2016, became the leading international streamer after being unblocked in 2020. Its first Indonesian original, The Cigarette Girl, aired in 2023. Korean content dominates Netflix Indonesia's top 50 most-watched titles, accounting for 50% of the list between January and September 2026.

Microdrama is expanding into broadcast television. RCTI began airing microdramas daily at 3:30 p.m. in January 2026. MNC Digital Entertainment launched the V+Short app in June 2026. In September 2026, Vidio partnered with ReelShort to add more than 200 dubbed titles. The K7 Media study recommends that Taiwanese companies target horror, foreign-drama channels, and IP adaptations to build ties with the local industry, starting with the JAFF Market in Yogyakarta on Nov. 28.