<‘DELETE’ still cut / Courtesy of GDH>

Barunson E&A (CEO Choi Yoon-hee) announced on the 6th that it has signed a co-production and investment agreement with Thailand’s leading film studio GDH for the thriller film DELETE the Movie.

GDH (formerly GTH - GMM Tai Hub) is a subsidiary of GMM Grammy, Thailand’s largest entertainment group. Known for its exceptional planning and production capabilities, GDH has produced Thailand’s highest-grossing local film, Pee Mak (2013), and the second-highest, I Fine.. Thank You.. Love You (2014).

The studio has also cemented its top position in the Thai film industry with works such as The Medium (2021), a horror collaboration between director Na Hong-jin and Banjong Pisanthanakun that topped the box office in Thailand and other key Asian markets. Other major hits include Bad Genius (2017), which received critical acclaim at international film festivals and was remade in Hollywood, and How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies (2024), Thailand’s highest-grossing film of the year with global box office earnings of $50 million.

DELETE the Movie, co-produced by Barunson E&A and GDH, is a spin-off of Delete, an eight-episode Netflix’s Thai original series. Set in Seoul, the film unfolds a mysterious story about a mobile phone that can erase a person’s existence with a single photo. The project has drawn attention as it will be directed by Parkpoom Wongpoom, the director of Shutter (2004), which garnered $7 million in global box office revenue and helped bring Thai horror to the global stage.

Barunson E&A will be involved in DELETE the Movie from the planning and development stage through to production and investment. The company will also oversee location filming in Korea and manage the film’s worldwide distribution.

Choi Yoon-hee, CEO of Barunson E&A, expressed excitement about the collaboration: “We are thrilled to be working with Thailand’s leading studio, GDH, and the highly talented director Parkpoom Wongpoom. ‘DELETE the Movie’ will leverage the strengths of both companies to create a new synergy, and we are confident it will captivate audiences worldwide and earn global recognition.”

Meanwhile, Barunson E&A has been successfully expanding its international business by collaborating with various directors and production teams worldwide. Its portfolio includes the Indonesian blockbuster action film 13 Bombs (2023), the horror-fantasy Respati (2024), and the Vietnamese film Don’t Cry, Butterfly (2024), which won Best Film and the Most Innovative Film Award at the 39th Venice International Film Critics’ Week.

Written by Jung Yoo-jin

News1 (Click)