Indonesian horror has a new box office champion. “Pabrik Gula” (Sugar Mill), the latest spine-tingler from genre maestro Awi Suryadi, has officially claimed the crown as Indonesia‘s highest-grossing film of 2025, conjuring $7 million in local receipts.
The supernatural thriller, backed by powerhouse MD Pictures in partnership with EST Studios and N8 Studios, has mesmerized Southeast Asian audiences with its atmospheric visuals, folklore-drenched narrative, and relentless scares. Drawing inspiration from local legends, the hair-raising tale follows seasonal laborers who find themselves trapped in a decrepit, haunted sugar mill in rural Java, where they battle malevolent supernatural entities.
“‘Pabrik Gula’s’ runaway success proves that audiences are hungry for culturally rooted horror,” said Manoj Punjabi, CEO of MD Pictures. “This is more than a box office milestone — it’s a statement that Indonesian storytelling belongs on the world stage.”
The film’s meteoric ascent comes mere weeks before its stateside theatrical debut on April 18, following a premiere at AMC The Grove in Los Angeles on March 26. The red carpet event drew a roster of Hollywood horror enthusiasts and celebrities, including “The Conjuring” franchise scribe Carey W. Hayes, Tara Reid (“American Pie”), Colton Tran (“The Sex Lives of College Girls”), and “1923” actor Sebastien Roché. The Indonesian Consul General, Purnomo Ahmad Chandra, also attended the event, highlighting the film’s cultural and diplomatic importance.
Set for a wide release across American theaters, “Pabrik Gula” aims to join the pantheon of international horror breakouts like “The Ring,” “Train to Busan,” and “Hereditary,” delivering a distinctly Southeast Asian twist on the genre’s most terrifying conventions.
Suryadi, who has established himself as one of Indonesia’s most commercially reliable genre helmers, including the country’s highest grosser of all time, “KKN di Desa Penari,” underscored the significance of merging traditional elements with contemporary storytelling: “Horror is universal, but the stories we tell are rooted in our land, our fears, and our myths. That’s what makes ‘Pabrik Gula’ different — it’s deeply Indonesian, yet deeply human.”
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