Thailand has selected director Pat Boonnitipat’s heartwarming blockbuster How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies as its selection to the 2025 Oscars in the best international feature film category. The choice was revealed Friday by the National Federation of Thai Film Associations (MPC).
Co-written by Boonnitipat and Thodsapon ‘Ped’ Thiptinnakorn, How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies has become a cultural phenomenon in Thailand, earning more in the country than any film this year. Produced by the hitmaking Bangkok-based studio GDH, the film has struck a chord with its irreverent and but ultimately heartwarming story of a scheming young man who quits his job to care for his dying grandmother in the hopes of inheriting her fortune. Key to the film’s local appeal, the grandson is played by pop singer-turned-actor Putthipong Assaratanakul (also known as Billkin).
How to Make Millions has earned $34 million from its theatrical runs in Southeast Asia and Australia/New Zealand, becoming the top-grossing Thai film ever in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Myanmar, Australia and New Zealand. Following recent theaterical outings in the U.S. and China, GDH says the film is now approaching the $50 million mark at the worldwide box office.
Announcing the Oscar pick, GDH said that in Thailand the movie “has brought people of all generations to theaters, with viewers in their 20s to 50s bringing their 70- to 80-year-old grandparents to experience the film together, an increasingly rare sight in today’s digital age.”
Thailand has submitted films for the Academy Award for best international feature film since 1994, but the country has not yet been nominated.
The shortlist for the 97th Academy Awards‘ best international feature contenders will be announced Dec. 17. Nominations will be announced Jan. 17 and the winners of the 2025 Academy Awards will be unveiled Sunday, March 2.
