Jubilation as ‘Pride of Malaysia’ Yeoh Wins First Oscar

Michelle Yeoh with her Oscar for Best Actress for "Everything Everywhere All at Once" in the press room during the 95th annual Academy Awards ceremony at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA, 12 March 2023. (EPA)
Michelle Yeoh with her Oscar for Best Actress for "Everything Everywhere All at Once" in the press room during the 95th annual Academy Awards ceremony at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA, 12 March 2023. (EPA)
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Jubilation as ‘Pride of Malaysia’ Yeoh Wins First Oscar

Michelle Yeoh with her Oscar for Best Actress for "Everything Everywhere All at Once" in the press room during the 95th annual Academy Awards ceremony at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA, 12 March 2023. (EPA)
Michelle Yeoh with her Oscar for Best Actress for "Everything Everywhere All at Once" in the press room during the 95th annual Academy Awards ceremony at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA, 12 March 2023. (EPA)

Family and friends of Malaysia's Michelle Yeoh responded with screams, jubilation and pride on Monday at her winning the Academy Award for best lead actress, Asia's first ever winner in the category.

There were ecstatic roars and fist-pumps as her triumph was announced at an Oscars viewing party in Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur, with all eyes on her surprised and delighted mother, Janet Yeoh.

"She's a very hardworking girl, you know. Everybody knows it," she told a news conference afterwards, in front of a poster of her daughter that said "Pride of Malaysia".

The actress's niece, Vicki Yeoh, looked equally stunned as the announcement was made, clutching her face and letting out a huge scream as the tears welled up.

"Jaw dropping moment ... I was speechless I cried, it happened so quickly and we are so happy that she won, that our auntie won," she said.

Yeoh, 60, won the award for her portrayal of a Chinese American laundromat owner Evelyn Wang, dealing with family turmoil in the science-fiction kung fu comedy "Everything Everywhere All at Once".

It was Yeoh's first Oscar nomination and she had been widely regarded as the front-runner.

Yeoh made her Hollywood breakthrough when she was cast as the first ethnic Chinese Bond girl in 1997's "Tomorrow Never Dies" opposite Pierce Brosnan. She has also starred in martial arts movie "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon," the 2005 period drama "Memoirs of a Geisha" and the 2018 romantic comedy "Crazy Rich Asians".

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim lauded Yeoh's success and said her career was illustrious and exemplary and would continue to inspire Malaysians.

"In creating history by being not just the first Malaysian but the very first Asian actress to win in this category, we take enormous pride in her achievement, adding to a long list of successes and capping a critically acclaimed acting career spanning decades," Anwar said in a statement on his Facebook page.

Family friend Derrick Lee described her as an inspiration.

"The efforts that she put in for this film is extraordinary," he said at the party.



‘Superman’ Aims to Save Flagging Film Franchise, Not Just Humanity

 David Corenswet, left, and Rachel Brosnahan participate in the ceremonial lighting of the Empire State Building on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, in New York. (Photo by CJ Rivera/Invision/AP)
David Corenswet, left, and Rachel Brosnahan participate in the ceremonial lighting of the Empire State Building on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, in New York. (Photo by CJ Rivera/Invision/AP)
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‘Superman’ Aims to Save Flagging Film Franchise, Not Just Humanity

 David Corenswet, left, and Rachel Brosnahan participate in the ceremonial lighting of the Empire State Building on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, in New York. (Photo by CJ Rivera/Invision/AP)
David Corenswet, left, and Rachel Brosnahan participate in the ceremonial lighting of the Empire State Building on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, in New York. (Photo by CJ Rivera/Invision/AP)

Superman is often called upon to save the world from evildoers, but in his latest big-screen incarnation, he's also being asked to swoop in and save a franchise.

James Gunn's "Superman," which opened in theaters worldwide this week, is a reboot aimed at relaunching the so-called DC Universe of comic book-based superhero movies, which also features Wonder Woman and Batman.

The celluloid efforts of Warner Bros. and DC Studios have been widely eclipsed by Disney's Marvel Cinematic Universe -- the world of Iron Man, Thor, Black Panther and the Fantastic Four, who are getting their own reboot later this month.

"Warner Bros. has invested a lot of energy and money in trying to refocus and renew DC Studios, and this is going to be the big release from that," analyst David A. Gross from Franchise Entertainment Research told AFP.

The heavy task falls on the shoulders of Gunn, the writer-director who won praise from fans of the genre with Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy" trilogy.

The movie's rollout has already encountered several headwinds, including a right-wing backlash to Gunn's comments on Superman's role as an immigrant, and skepticism from fans of the previous Superman films helmed by director Zack Snyder.

Gunn has shrugged off the high stakes surrounding the movie's box office success.

"Is there something riding on it? Yeah, but it's not as big as people make it out to be," he told GQ Magazine.

"They hear these numbers that the movie's only going to be successful if it makes $700 million or something and it's just complete and utter nonsense."

The hype around the movie is real -- the White House even superimposed President Donald Trump onto one of the movie's official posters with the caption "THE SYMBOL OF HOPE. TRUTH. JUSTICE. THE AMERICAN WAY. SUPERMAN TRUMP."

- 'A diminished genre' -

Warner Bros. hopes the DC Universe can catch up with Marvel which -- after years of huge successes with the "Avengers" movies -- has seen more muted box office returns with the recent "Thunderbolts" and "Captain America: Brave New World."

Gross explained that superhero films hit a peak right before the Covid-19 pandemic, with box office earnings and audience enthusiasm waning ever since that time.

"It's really a diminished genre," Gross said.

However, the analyst said early buzz for "Superman" was "really good."

The film stars up-and-comer David Corenswet as the new Superman/Clark Kent, with "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" star Rachel Brosnahan playing love interest Lois Lane and Nicholas Hoult as arch-villain Lex Luthor.

The story follows the Man of Steel coming to terms with his alien identity as he finds his place in the human world.

The supporting cast boasts a selection of other DC Comics characters, from the peacekeeping Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion) -- who is scheduled to reprise the role in upcoming TV series "Lanterns" -- to the mace-wielding Hawkgirl.

Gross noted that July "is the top moviegoing month of the year," leading tracking estimates to forecast a total of more than $100 million for the film's opening weekend in North America.

- 'The story of America' -

DC Studios however must shake off a reputation for producing mediocre films that did not score well with audiences.

The last round of "DC Extended Universe" films included the well-liked "Wonder Woman" (2017) starring Gal Gadot -- but also box office flops like "Shazam! Fury of the Gods" (2023) and the under-performing "Aquaman" sequel with Jason Momoa.

"The success was mixed, and they were spending a lot of money on some of the new spinoff characters who were not working particularly well," Gross said, pointing at 2021's "The Suicide Squad" -- directed by Gunn -- as an example.

The last films featuring Superman, starring Henry Cavill and directed by Snyder, were relatively successful for Warner Bros. until "Justice League" -- DC's effort at recreating the "Avengers" vibe -- which lost millions of dollars.

Fans of Snyder have stirred up negative buzz for the new "Superman" movie, voicing hope online that the reboot fails out of a sense of loyalty to the previous films.

The backlash was further widened after right-wing pundits groaned about Superman's specific characterization as an immigrant, lamenting the superhero had become "woke."

Gunn addressed the criticism, telling The Times newspaper that "Superman is the story of America," with the character reflecting those who "came from other places and populated the country."

"I'm telling a story about a guy who is uniquely good, and that feels needed now," he added.

Ultimately, time will soon tell if Corenswet's chiseled looks and Gunn's directorial vision will be the superpowers that DC Studios need -- or prove to be its Kryptonite.