Indonesian cinema has been growing fast in entering the global stage. In recent years, local filmmakers have started to try bolder, more captivating genres, presenting fresh and uncommon perspectives that have never been seen before in Indonesian movies.
This growth can be seen in several achievements: Indonesian films ranking in Netflix Global Top 10, as well as invitations to prestigious international film festivals over the past five years. It is also shown from the increasing number of people taking an interest in the release of local movies.
Now, let’s take a look at how Indonesian films have recently presented themselves in the global scope.
The Growth of Indonesian Cinema
Indonesian cinema began showing increasing progress around a decade ago, but its momentum surged in the post-pandemic years. Since then, local films have expanded into a wider area, that it started to gain recognition internationally.
According to a PwC report, Indonesia is considered to be one of the fastest-growing in terms of its cinema market, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) at 9.9%, which is more than double the global average of 4.7%. In this fast-growing market, local films dominate with 65% of the domestic box office share.
The growth of Indonesian cinema globally is also shown on streaming platforms, listed in the Netflix Global Top 10. The honorable mention goes to Cigarette Girl (2023), a six-episode series adapted from a well-known Indonesian novel, and Nightmares and Daydreams (2024) by Joko Anwar, which presents sci-fi stories in the local version. And these are only a few examples of Indonesian cinema achievements so far.
New Genres Unfold in Indonesian Cinema
It has been known that the most appealing genre in Indonesian films is horror. But then, The Raid (2011) brought out an action genre, which received lots of international recognition. Though other genres have long existed, post-COVID has made the Indonesian film industry emerge more with a diversity of genres.
No longer equipped with only horror, Indonesian production house is stepping confidently by releasing movies with new plots and genres that are rarely seen before. We can include Stealing Raden Saleh (2022) with an heist-action narrative, Falling in Love Like in Movies (2023) with an unconventional storytelling of romantic comedy, Till Death Do Us Apart (2024) and A Normal Woman (2025) with psychological thrillers, Sore: Wife From the Future (2025) with a fantasy romance, and Tinggal Meninggal (2025) which brings an unusual theme of dark comedy.
Indonesian people are beginning to gain interest in this diversity of genres. The more genres Indonesian cinema embraces, the more the audience wants to check it out. This then becomes a potential good change for Indonesian cinema getting more recognition that would lead to global reach.
Indonesian Cinema in Prestigious International Festivals
Indonesian cinema has also received a lot of invitations to various international film festivals for years. The quality of the movie production has improved greatly in terms of the visual presentation and its narrative strategy.
Just a few days ago, Indonesian films, namely Pangku (2025), Mothernet (2025), and Rangga & Cinta (2025) were invited to the Busan International Film Festival, once again marking a global recognition of Indonesian cinema. Another global contribution of Indonesian film is the collaboration of Indonesian well-known director Joko Anwar and the Amazon MGM Studios to produce The Siege at Thorn High (2025), a film that brings up the issue of school violence.
Furthermore, when discussing the achievements of Indonesian films, it includes Mouly Surya’s Marline the Murderer in Four Acts (2017) which won the Best Film at the Asia-Pacific Film Festival 2018 also many others, and Edwin’s Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash (2021) which won the Best Film at the Locarno Film Festival in 2021. And currently, Indonesia has picked Sore: Wife From the Future (2025) as the representative for the 2026 Oscars submission in the category of Best International Feature Film.
How Indonesians Promote Their Cinema
Regarding the country’s cinema, Indonesians nowadays have grown to be interested in it. Based on the report of Statista, the revenue growth of Indonesian cinema has increased rapidly along with the digital evolution among its audience. The existence of digital media creates a trend where people, mostly the young generation, use it for promoting Indonesian films, for example, by sharing a review and inviting others to watch.
Indonesians today tend to be more interested in narrative that feels relatable and close to them. And in reality, that need is provided through some of the recent Indonesian movies that revolve around specific relatable topics, such as social media impact like Andragogy (2023), and the struggle of the sandwich generation who have to provide for a big family like in A Brother and 7 Siblings (2025).
Related to the discussion about genre above, the interest of Indonesians toward cinema is no longer a vague area. Jumbo (2025), an animated movie by Ryan Adriandhy, successfully reached 10 million viewers in the span of around 60 days in the theatre, surpassing the highest viewership at that time of a horror movie. This concludes that an animation can surpass and break the allegation that “Indonesia is only producing horrors”.
Indonesian cinema continues to improve, both in production quality and narrative style, and audiences show stronger enthusiasm for local stories. With this momentum, it is hoped that Indonesian cinema will gain more appreciation and support from the internal, as it clearly showed the potential to step onto the global stage.
