Boosted by two local mega-blockbusters King Naresuan Part 1 and 2, Thailand's box office scaled new heights in 2007 to reach $122.35m (THB3.8bn), representing a huge surge of 20.63% year-on-year.

Prince Chatrichalerm Yukol's two historical epics topped the overall box office chart with each raking in over 200m baht, making Thailand one of the few Asian countries with local films as top earners.

However, without the two Naresuan films, the market growth would only be around 6%. And distributors are expecting a decline in total box office in 2008 without the two blockbuster titles.

The two films beat Hollywood blockbusters Spider-man 3, Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix, Transformers and Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End - the only foreign films that broke 100m baht mark and cracked the top ten.

Also thanks to Naresuan, the market share for Thai films shot up to 44.74% from 36.2% in 2006. Half of the top ten titles were Thai films (see chart below).

'2007 will be remembered for a shift in popularity away from Western films to Thai films,' said Anthony Vogels, general manager of UIP Thailand.

Local producer-distributor Sahamongkolfilm emerged as the big winner as it released the top four local titles, and also distributes foreign films, although distributor market share is not available.

Top 10 films in Thailand (2007)

1. King Naresuan Part 1 (Sahamongkol) $7.65m (THB237m)

2. King Naresuan Part 2 (Sahamongkol) $7.57m (THB235m)

3. Spider-man 3 (SPR) $5.78 m (THB179m)

4. Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix (WB) $5.14 m (THB160m)

5. Transformers (UIP) $4.11 m (THB127m)

6. Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End (BVI) $4.09 m (THB127m)

7. Bodyguard 2 (Sahamongkol) $2.99 m (THB93m)

8. Resident Evil 3: Extinction (Sahamongkol) $2.90 m (THB90m)

9. Teng Nong Khon Ma Ha Hia (Sahamongkol) $2.82 m (THB88m)

10. Bus Lane The Movie (RS Films) $2.67 m (THB83m)

Top 10 Thai films in Thailand (2007)

1. King Naresuan Part 1 (Sahamongkol) $7.65 m (THB237m)

2. King Naresuan Part 2 (Sahamongkol) $7.57 m (THB235m)

3. Bodyguard 2 (Sahamongkol) $2.99 m (THB93m)

4. Teng Nong Khon Ma Ha Hia (Sahamongkol) $2.82 m (THB88m)

5. Bus Lane The Movie (RS Films) $2.67 m (THB83m)

6. Bedside Detective (GTH) $2.40 m (THB74m)

7. Kung Fu Tootsie (GTH) $2.39 m (THB74m)

8. Pong Lang Sa Ding (RS Films) $2.38 m (THB74m)

9. Alone (GTH) $2.17 m (THB67m)

10. Midroad Gang (NGR) $1.94 m (THB60m)

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