Malaysians Question How Local Film “Vik2Ria Secret” Secured RM550k From Finas
The total production of “Vik2Ria Secret” costs RM1.05 million but only brought in RM5,058.90 in ticket sales.
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It’s not a secret that local films in Malaysia have a reputation for having poor storytelling and plot.
A local film titled Vik2Ria Secret’s poor ticket sales and failure to capture audiences despite its high production cost has prompted netizens to question the making of the movie and the way funds are awarded to production houses and filmmakers.
Vik2Ria Secret purportedly took RM1.05 million to make, with almost half of the funds (RM550,000) secured from the National Film Development Corporation (Finas).
Despite the high production cost, Vik2Ria Secret allegedly completed two weeks of cinema showings that only managed to draw 346 people to watch and only netted RM5,058.90 in ticket sales.
#Vik2RiaSecret selesai tayang 2 minggu di pawagam Malaysia.
— FILEMKITA (@FilemKita) July 14, 2023
Kutipan jualan tiket: RM5,058.90
Jumlah penonton: 346
Kos pembikinan: RM1.05 juta
Dana diterima daripada Finas: RM550,000 pic.twitter.com/hD3bjoTTjN
Netizens wondered how films with poor stories like Vik2Ria Secret managed to secure funding from Finas and wondered what criteria were set and met to receive the funding.
Meanwhile, the issue has also made some wonder if it was a money laundering scheme. Netizens also alleged the reported number of people watching the movie could be just the audience on the film’s premiere day.
On a lighter note, netizens also criticised the quality of the poster design and the decision to include an image of a bra on it.
Some netizens believe the fund from Finas would benefit proven local creators such as Sofyank better.
Tahukah anda bila cerita ttg filem yg dapat dana FINAS, kita pun taktau atas kriteria apa FINAS buat pemilihan.
— Fakta Bukan Auta (@FaktaBukanAuta) July 16, 2023
Sbg contoh, VIK2RIA SECRET.
FINAS bagi dana setengah juta lebih.
Ya duit kerajaan RM550,000!
Tapi kutipan filem ni cuma RM5,000 lebih kurang. Penonton cuma 346 org. pic.twitter.com/X0Ioxbs7DA
Apa logik cerita macam ni dapat setengah juta?
— Ashraf Jiwa (@m_ashrafj) July 16, 2023
Terbukti FINAS cuba mengeluarkan filem untuk membodohkan malaysian. Ke diorang nak cuci duit ni 🤔
— Astronaut (@TartagliaKazuha) July 16, 2023
Kalau 300 penonton maksudnya time Premier jelah lepastu takde dah
— rihha alicia (@AliciaRihha) July 14, 2023
Poster still zaman aku beli vcd… poster pun tak improve. Apatah lah kualiti filem…
— imanT4N (@INHHHHHHHHHH) July 16, 2023
Apahalllll ada coli kaler pink letak kt poster la tu..adoyaii..xde arah dh org zaman skrg nk tergoda ngan promo stail lama ni..tu pun punca xde sambutan..ehh jap,ada iklan ke pasal wayang ni..hmm,🤔
— Rjun🔺 (@Nastro75) July 16, 2023
Baik lah bagi dana tu kat @sofyank96 yang dah terbukti ada bakat CGI.
— BLACK (@hafizdenial) July 16, 2023
Finas has sued individuals and production houses before
Back in April 2023, Finas sued 47 individuals and production companies for not delivering any films from the RM20 million that was granted to them.
Finas Chief Executive Md Nasir Ibrahim said the actions were based on an audit report involving grants between 2013 and 2017.
According to Malay Mail, Finas urged these individuals and production companies to repay the funds through warning letters but to no avail.
Nasir said some blamed Finas for being inhumane by taking legal action against them.
Moving forward, Finas has tightened the process of granting funds and monitored filming processes on the ground to ensure there was no misappropriation of funds.
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