(Bloomberg/Patpicha Tanakasempipat and Sohee Kim) — Netflix Inc. is ramping up manufacturing of content material in Thailand after pumping in additional than $200 million prior to now 4 years, underscoring the Southeast Asian nation’s rising function as a regional hub for manufacturing.
The world’s largest platform has been pumping out authentic content material from Thailand akin to thriller thriller sequence Grasp of the Home, serving to entice 750 million viewing hours of Thai content material in 2024 alone. Netflix is planning to create 9 authentic titles this 12 months together with a zombie-survival movie Ziam.
“We are ramping up local storytelling with local investments. We are also training the next generation of Thai storytellers and crew,” Malobika Banerji, director of content material for Southeast Asia at Netflix, stated at a briefing on Wednesday. “This puts us in a unique position in the entertainment industry, not just bringing foreign content and production to Thailand, but enriching the local ecosystem, and we are not slowing down.”
The push aligns with Bangkok’s purpose to generate 4 trillion baht ($123 billion) in revenue and create 20 million jobs within the artistic economic system, a part of a broader technique to create a brand new financial engine and diversify away from its tourism-reliant and export-heavy progress mannequin. Thailand is drawing inspiration from South Korea’s cultural playbook, betting on native content material that may journey outdoors the area and host big-budget international productions.
Learn: Season Three Of HBO Hit The White Lotus Tries Terror on for Dimension
HBO’s The White Lotus shot its third season completely in Thailand, showcasing its seashores and concrete backdrops alongside native expertise. Common’s Jurassic World Rebirth, partly filmed on Thai islands, premiered in July, whereas FX’s upcoming sci-fi sequence Alien: Earth reportedly set a file for international manufacturing funding within the nation.
Since 2016, greater than 4,600 abroad movie tasks have tapped into Thailand’s areas, expert crews and fashionable studios, injecting over $1 billion into the economic system. A system of aggressive money rebates has additional cemented its attraction.
The nation’s movie board accredited on Tuesday 845 million baht in money rebates for seven international productions with whole investments of 4.5 billion baht. Overseas movie productions in Thailand injected 6.6 billion baht into the native economic system in 2024, based on Chakrit Pichyangkul, govt director of Thailand’s Inventive Economic system Company.
On the identical time, the Thai authorities has ramped up funding for home productions, driving extra native movies and sequence onto worldwide pageant circuits and world streaming platforms.
Netflix and rivals together with China’s iQiyi are leaning on Thai-language content material to win subscribers throughout Southeast Asia, the place a mix of cultural authenticity and up to date storytelling has proved well-liked.
Warner Bros. Discovery additionally rolled out Max within the area late final 12 months, timing the launch forward of The White Lotus’s Thailand season — a transfer that helped each increase tourism and draw new customers to the service.
The elevated publicity of Thailand to the worldwide viewers has spurred cultural tourism and demand for Thai merchandise, producing greater than 300 billion baht in spillover financial worth, Chakrit stated on the identical briefing.
Extra tales like this can be found on bloomberg.com
©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Initially Revealed: August 20, 2025 at 8:51 AM PDT
