SINGAPORE: The internet went into hyperdrive when director Jack Neo announced that a third instalment of his Money No Enough series was in the works. Netizens said it was an appropriate movie for the age of high inflation, while others mocked him for milking old content.
The director is also scheduled to make I Not Stupid 3 next year, capitalising on that particular franchise’s popularity.
This raises the question: Are filmmakers running out of ideas?
THE BOX OFFICE KING
Frankly, it’s a bit mischievous to accuse Mr Neo of this. Since Money No Enough, which technically he didn’t direct, he’s gone on to write and direct about 29 movies. Money No Enough isn’t even the longest-running franchise – that honour goes to Ah Boys to Men, which spanned a total of four movies and two spin-offs – Ah Girls Go Army and Ah Girls Go Army Again.
No local filmmaker has a box office record like Neo. While the majority of made-in-Singapore films struggle to cross the S$1 million (US$730,000) mark, a Jack Neo movie would often cross that with relative ease.