M'sian actor in 'Liang Po Po Vs Ah Beng' defends movie's success after claim of empty halls

The Malaysian co-star in Jack Neo's latest comedy flick, "Liang Po Po Vs Ah Beng", took to Facebook to refute online claims that the film's local success was "fake", owing to "empty" screening halls.

Other movies saw empty rows as well

In an almost five-minute-long video, Malaysian actor Jack Lim argued that the film he starred in was not the only movie with plenty of empty seats, and that detractors cherry-picked evidence to slander the film.

On Feb. 23, Malaysian cinema chain Golden Screen Cinemas posted on Facebook that since the film's release on Feb. 17, it has surpassed RM8 million (S$2.6 million) in box office sales.

However, one user claimed that there was quite a dearth of watchers, according to screenshots shared in Lim's video.

The user said she intended to watch the film on Feb. 24 at 6pm, but decided against it after seeing rows of empty seats for the movie's screenings at MyTown, a mall in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

To disprove this criticism, Lim browsed the availability for "Liang Po Po Vs Ah Beng", showing that the screenings were mostly empty, with a handful of sold tickets for each.

He then went on to browse other movies, including a newly released Jackie Chan film.

It showed that the number of tickets sold for these other films was comparable to that for Neo's film.

"I'm not attacking these films, but I don't know why people see a need to slander my film," Lim said.

"I don't know about your mentality, or what I've done to offend you," Lim addressed the commenter.

People are back at work after CNY

Lim also explained that the Chinese New Year holidays are over, and that people have returned to their busy schedules.

"Not everyone's like you, who don't have to work or study," Lim said sarcastically.

"Obviously, at such times, there won't be any people. It's not that there's nobody, it's just too early," he continued.

In the comments, Lim thanked those who had already watched the film for their support, saying they had spent "a lot of effort" on its production.

Top image via Jack Lim / Facebook