Singaporean director Jack Neo is having a great Year of the Dragon.
His latest comedy, Money No Enough 3, made more than S$1.5mil (RM5.3mil) over the first three days of Chinese New Year (Feb 10 to 12) and has collected S$2.3mil (RM8.1mil) at the Singapore box office since opening in cinemas on Feb 1.
According to the film’s distributor Golden Village Pictures, the title is the best-performing Singaporean movie since the Covid-19 pandemic hit.
Lim Teck, executive producer of Money No Enough 3, said in a press statement that this was Neo’s 20th film to cross the S$2mil (RM7.1mil) mark at the Singapore box office. Only 24 Singaporean films – including Kelvin Tong’s The Maid (2005) and Royston Tan’s 881 (2007) – have achieved the feat.
He added that Money No Enough 3 was also the highest-grossing Chinese New Year movie in Malaysia, and has made RM7.3mil since its release on Feb 9.
In the same press statement, Neo thanked moviegoers and fans for following the franchise that started in 1998. He also expressed gratitude to those who took their children and grandchildren along to the cinemas.
He added: “Money No Enough 3 is not just a Chinese New Year movie. It is a shared memory for all of us. Let us continue to work harder and make local movies shine brighter.”
The 1998 smash Money No Enough – directed by Tay Teck Lock, and written by and starring Neo – grossed a record S$6mil (RM21.3mil). Money No Enough 2 (2008) also made a killing at the Singapore box office with a haul of S$4.9mil (RM17.4mil).
Part 3 of the local satire on greed and materialism reunites Neo with comedians Mark Lee and Henry Thia, as they continue to face financial woes.
Neo’s best-performing film is Ah Boys To Men 2 (2013). With a gross of S$7.9mil (RM28mil), the comedy about incompetent army recruits tops the all-time Singapore movies box-office chart. – The Straits Times/Asia News Network
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