With recent news of Indonesia’s most notable movie chains reporting record loss reaching billions of Rupiahs, the ongoing downward momentum in the Indonesian film industry may point to a cause for concern.

Cinema XXI under PT Nusantara Sejahtera Raya Tbk (CNMA), has reported significant losses in their first quarterly report of 2025. Amounting to a staggering IDR 69.43 billion,  this number provides a stark contrast to the IDR 141.56 billion in earnings accumulated during 2024’s first quarter, signalling a financially uncertain time in the Indonesian film industry as sales are experiencing lows in many different aspects. In a closer look, CNMA also reported a decline in sales of their other businesses provided along with the moviegoing experience—including in F&B, movie ticket sales, and income from digital platforms. 

In a public statement, the President Director of CNMA Suryo Suherman comments saying this is just a seasonal nature of the business. Precisely referencing Ramadan—affecting consumption patterns away from the entertainment industry as a whole—the result is an expected decrease in sales given by the timeliness of the season and the constantly changing time of the Holy Month. 

Despite Suherman’s optimistically reassuring statement, this pattern still extends to the reported losses of other domestic film chains, with CGV operating at a loss for the fifth consecutive year since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020. Amounting to IDR 1.33 billion in the company’s accumulated losses as of 31 December 2024.

While the rise of streaming platforms is often cited as a key factor, the decline of the film industry often overlooks another major issue: the popularity of piracy. In 2023, Indonesia ranked fifth globally for pirated movie consumption, accounting for approximately 3.5% of worldwide visits—amounting to roughly 1.3 billion visits. 

As going to the movies start to feel like a luxury when compared to the ease and instant gratification of streaming platforms, even pirating movies makes it seem all the more tempting—and if the damage hasn’t already been done—the future of Indonesian films is on dangerously thin ice.

With the release of home-grown box office juggernauts like Jumbo, things are starting to look less grim. But will it be enough?

Released by the production house Visinema Pictures, the animated feature has been breaking records left and right since its release last March. As an animated movie, its accomplishments have been remarkable as within this short time has achieved the most commercially successful animated movie in all of Southeast Asia—while also becoming the third best selling Indonesian movie of all time after KKN di Desa Penari and Agak Laen—with 7.15 million recorded moviegoers as of 27 April 2025. 

This is a huge step not only for the Indonesian film industry but especially for the state of Indonesian animation, showcasing a genuine and even broader appreciation for Indonesian-made animation movies as past successes Si Juki The Movie: Panitia Hari Akhir and Nussa has now been completely overshadowed by Jumbo.

But the question remains: Will these successes be enough to sustain the film industry going forward? With these financial failures back to back, and the pandemic effect continuing to dampen sales in the midst of the streaming era’s golden years, only time can really tell. Though surely, should the support of Indonesian moviegoers continue the same force of nature that it has, there shouldn’t be too much cause for concern… Or is there?