Pee Mak earns 1 billion, gets decent reviews in Hong Kong

Pee Mak Phra Khanong, the ghost comedy that has thundered its way into the box-office record books in Thailand, has earned 1 billion baht, according to social-media promotions from studio GTH.

And the cash is still rolling in as the movie generates waves of laughter across the region. Pee Mak opens this week in Malaysia and next week in Singapore.

It opened in Hong Kong a couple of weeks ago, and a couple of reviews have surfaced.

Twitch's Hong Kong-based Asian editor, James Marsh, who's never gone easy on Thai films, surprisingly liked Pee Mak:

"Re-inventing a classic Thai ghost story into a goofball comedy romance, seasoned director Banjong Pisanthanakun has scored a huge box office hit in his native Thailand. While unlikely to do the same kind of business outside South East Asia, Pee Mak Phra Khanong is nevertheless an enjoyable and frequently laugh-out-loud crowd pleaser.

While praising lead actress Davika Hoorne, who plays the stretchy-armed ghost, Marshy reserved his negative views for Mario Maurer's performance and for the film's 115-minute length, in which all the running around and screaming begins to get old. Read the whole thing at Twitch.

Another review comes from Hong Kong's South China Morning Post, and it's generally positive.