Zombie hit ‘Colony’ bites its way to RM30.6m and Malaysia’s No. 1 box office crown

KUALA LUMPUR, July 5 — South Korea’s Colony has surpassed RM30.6 million at the Malaysian box office, making it the country’s highest-grossing film of 2026 so far.

The latest box office milestone was announced yesterday by local distributor Mega Films Distribution during the Colony celebration dinner at Pavilion Hotel Kuala Lumpur, marking the continued success of director Yeon Sang-ho’s zombie thriller in cinemas nationwide.

Last month, Colony also overtook Yeon’s previous blockbuster Train to Busan to become the highest-grossing South Korean film ever released in Malaysia, surpassing the earlier film’s RM21 million record.

Colony premiered in Malaysian cinemas on May 22, with Malaysia becoming the first South-east Asian country to screen the highly anticipated film simultaneously with South Korea.

The film has enjoyed a strong reception from local audiences, with social media filled with positive reactions and many fans returning to cinemas for repeat viewings.

Since its release, Colony has steadily climbed the box office, crossing the RM10 million and RM20 million milestones before now surpassing RM30.6 million.

It has also remained at the top of the Malaysian box office for four consecutive weeks, outperforming several major releases that opened during the same period.

Beyond Malaysia, the film has also been a major hit in South Korea, where it topped the domestic box office and surpassed five million admissions.

Starring Jun Ji-hyun, Koo Kyo-hwan, Ji Chang-wook, Shin Hyun-been, Kim Shin-rock and Go Soo, Colony follows a group of survivors trapped inside a building after an unknown infection spreads rapidly.

Cut off from the outside world, they must fight to survive as the infected mutate into increasingly dangerous forms.

The film offers a fresh spin on the zombie genre, with Yeon drawing inspiration from the hive-mind behaviour of ant colonies and the concept of artificial intelligence when creating the infected.