Ah Boys to Men

Ah Boys to Men
All characters depicted in the poster are wearing green army uniform and black leather shoes, with the exception of one. From left to right: an Indian male is crouching on the tiled ground. He is wearing a red armband. His face is partially tilted to the front. Beside him is a Chinese male facing front and standing. He is holding a metal tray in his arms. In the centre is a Chinese male; he is facing right and carrying a gun. Next to him is another Chinese male raising up his clenched left fist and holding a gun in the other hand. A Malay male beside is looking upwards; his body is partially titled. Lastly, on the far right, a Chinese male is squatting. He is wearing a green singlet and a pair of slippers while holding a phone next to his ear. In the background is Singapore's Basic Military Training Centre.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJack Neo
Written byJack Neo
Link Sng
Produced byLeonard Lai Yok Wai
Starring
Cinematography
  • Ardy Lam
  • Chiu Wai Yin
  • Amandi Wong
Edited byYim Mun Chong
Music byZheng Kai Hua
Matthew Teng
Production
companies
J Team Productions
mm2 Entertainment
Distributed byGolden Village Pictures
Clover Films
Release date
  • 8 November 2012 (2012-11-08)
(Singapore)
Running time
110 minutes
CountrySingapore[1]
Languages
  • English
  • Mandarin
  • Hokkien
  • Cantonese
  • Malay
BudgetS$3 million ($2.45 million; shared with Ah Boys to Men 2)[2]
Box officeS$6,300,000[3] US$5,088,410[4]

Ah Boys to Men (simplified Chinese: 新兵正传; traditional Chinese: 新兵正傳; pinyin: xīnbīng zhèngzhuàn; Wade–Giles: Hsin1 Ping1 Cheng4 Chuan4; lit. 'Recruits' True Biography') is a 2012 Singaporean military comedy film produced and directed by Jack Neo, written by Neo and Link Sng. It stars Joshua Tan, Maxi Lim, Noah Yap, Wang Weiliang, Tosh Zhang, Ridhwan Azman, Aizuddiin Nasser and Charlie Goh in the first installment. The main plot revolves around a group of army recruits in National service in Singapore. Neo had wanted to shoot an army-themed film since his army days, but could not find a suitable chance to do so. This film is also the first local film to be released in two parts and the first to film in Pulau Tekong, as well as the first South-East Asian film to feature Dolby Atmos surround sound. The film's theme song, "Recruits' Anthem" was written and composed by one of the cast, Tosh Zhang.

The film was released on 8 November 2012. It is the highest-grossing Singaporean film of all time, and has grossed over four times its S$3 million budget. Maxi Lim, Noah Yap, Wang Weiliang, Tosh Zhang, Charlie Goh and Chen Tianwen would later collaborate again in Neo's next project movie known as The Lion Men and The Lion Men: Ultimate Showdown.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference FBA review was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Frater, Patrick (November 12, 2012). "Neo's army comedy shoots down Bond". Film Business Asia. Archived from the original on November 16, 2012. Retrieved November 13, 2012.
  3. ^ Chan, Boon (January 8, 2013). "Superhero flicks and Jack Neo movies ruled last year's box office". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on January 9, 2013. Retrieved January 10, 2013.
  4. ^ "2012 Singapore Yearly Box Office". Box Office Mojo. IMDB. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 9 March 2016.