More feature films from the Asia-Pacific region appeared on Netflix’s global non-English-language film weekly top 10 than films from any other region, Minyoung Kim, Netflix’s content vice president for APAC (ex-India), said this morning at the streamer’s APAC Film Showcase in Tokyo.

Speaking ahead of this afternoon’s fan event and screening of Japanese director Shinji Higuchi’s “Bullet Train Explosion”, Kim said Netflix’s APAC members’ film viewing grew by almost 20% in 2024. More than 100 APAC films peaked through the year, she said. 

The average Netflix viewer in APAC watches seven movies a month, Kim said, adding that variety had always been key to the platform's film slate. 

"As our business grows across the region, our film space has also grown," she said, listing titles such as Japanese live-action comedy "City Hunter" from director Yuichi Satoh based on Tsukasa Hojo’s iconic manga; Korean director Jason Kim's action comedy "Officer Black Belt"; and Indian historical court drama "Maharaj" directed by Siddharth P. Malhotra. 

Kim also name checked Indonesian filmmaker, Timo Tjahjanto ("The Night Comes for Us"), who directed action crime thriller, "The Shadow Strays" – his most ambitious project so far.

"The Shadow Strays", about a 17-year-old assassin suspended after a failed mission in Japan, won a place on Netflix's global non-English weekly top 10 for four weeks after its mid-October 2024 premiere, including two weeks at #2. 

Top 10 global non-English films this year so far include Hindi-language historical action film “Chhaava” (India), directed by Laxman Utekar and produced by Dinesh Vijan under Maddock Films; director Pat Boonnitipat’s Thai comedy-drama, “How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies”; and South Korea’s “Revelation”, a web-toon-based mystery thriller about a pastor who believes in divine punishment and a detective haunted by visions. 

Kim highlighted Netflix's sprawling appetite, from originals and post-theatrical streaming rights to big-name features and local titles with limited global exposure, and said Netflix teams in nine countries across the region were "immersed in the local industry and passionate about film". 

"When we invest in local stories, it actually does more than just that. It does something else. It supports local jobs and local industries. We've seen it here in Japan; when we launched "City Hunter" last year, the sales of original manga, digital and hard copy, skyrocketed by 900%," she said, adding that initiatives to upskill people at all levels of the production ecosystem would continue across the region.

This morning's showcase covered films from Thailand, Indonesia, Korea, Japan and India. 

Two upcoming titles from Indonesia ("The Elixir") and Thailand ("Ziam") were presented by Malobika Banerji, Netflix's senior director of content for Southeast Asia, who said both films "bring the next level of horror story telling to their markets... With these two films, we wanted to take the thrill of zombies and fuse it with local storytelling, culture and authenticity". 

Directed by Kimo Stamboel, "The Elixir" –  Netflix's first original zombie feature from Indonesia – is about dysfunctional family that owns a herbal medicine business. When their dark secrets and a mysterious herbal elixir collide, an undead outbreak is unleashed.

"At its heart, the film isn't just about surviving zombies. It's about fractured family relationships, generational conflicts, betrayals and redemption," Banerji said, adding that it's "not only an emotionally charged, culturally specific and visually thrilling reinvention of the genre, but will also thrill audiences with the high stakes set pieces, makeup and visual effects in a way never seen before in Indonesian films".  

Thai zombie action film "Ziam" is from Thai director Kulp ‘Tent’ Kaljareuk, the showrunner of last year’s hit local series, "Master of the House".

"Ziam is not just zombie action — it’s zombie action with a beating heart and fists of fury," Banerji said.

Set in a near-future Thailand devastated by environmental collapse and authoritarian control, the film blends high-impact hand combat choreography with social commentary — exploring themes of survival, sacrifice, and systemic decay. At the film's heart is Singh, a former Muay Thai fighter navigating a crumbling world to save the woman he loves.

Banerji said "Ziam" distinguished itself through "raw, physical action combined with inventive staging, emotional resonance, and a uniquely Thai atmosphere. To bring that world to life, we used 3D In-Camera VFX (ICVFX) for the first time in our productions in SEA, allowing our cast and crew to see and interact with the world in real-time instead of imagining it".