KUALA LUMPUR, April 26 — Well-known local film producer Datuk Yusof Haslam described the extraordinary success of action thriller Sheriff: Narko Integriti in both the local and Singapore cinema circuits as the most meaningful gift in conjunction with this 70th birthday on April 24.

Yusof, who is also the chairman of Skop Productions Sdn Bhd as well as co-executive producer of the film, said the film directed by his son Syafiq Yusof has taken home RM24 million at the box office as of yesterday.

"... with the economy not being so good now, I was a bit worried how the film will fare but with Allah’s blessings, the film has been receiving an encouraging response and (for this) I am very grateful,” he said when contacted by Bernama today.

"I am also grateful that my children (Syafiq Yusof and Syamsul Yusof) are very talented and Allah has given them a way to make their work easier and their works are widely accepted,”

"I cannot say that I expect a certain (box office) collection, but looking at the film’s (Sheriff) momentum from day to day as well as from what netizens have to say, we can say that there is confidence...but we cannot know how far it can go in terms of is collections,” he said.

According to him, the film displays an open nature in the context of Malay stories as well as on taboo issues and these are why the audience is attracted to it.

At the same time, he said the film, which costs nearly RM6.7 million, will also enter the Indonesian market at the end of May.

"My brother-in-law will head to Jakarta next week as there was an interest there, so maybe we will screen it at the end of next month, if allowed,” he said.

Meanwhile, a survey on social media found that Sheriff also received positive comments from netizens, including the owner of the X site account @shahrilishakkkk, who said the film can stand on par with international films.

"Sheriff Narko Integriti is a must-watch film. Indeed, there are Malay stories of international level,” said @shahrilishakkkk.

Meanwhile, account holder @dnykmrzmxn also felt excited about the storyline featured in the action thriller.

The film tells the story of a police officer from the Integrity Department, Sheriffudin Hussein aka Sheriff teaming up with a young police officer Nazri from the Narcotics Department to bust a drug syndicate led by Tony Ifrit.

It stars Zul Ariffin, Syafiq Kyle, Datuk Aaron Aziz, Azira Shafinaz and Elizabeth Tan. — Bernama