It has been 15 years since the release of Jack Neo’s Money No Enough 2.
The franchise focused on the theme of Singaporeans dreaming of financial success.
Since the franchise’s debut 25 years ago, this dream still holds true.
Thus, Money No Enough 3 is set to be released during Chinese New Year next year.
It sounds like the perfect excuse to avoid uncomfortable questions from your relatives, as you guys can watch the movie instead.
Money No Enough 3 Set to be Released in 2024
The news was announced at a press conference at Equarius Hotel, Resorts World Sentosa on 10 October.
According to Variety, the story will revolve around three “young seniors” who are lifelong friends.
The characters have their own family and financial woes, especially after one of them starts an illegal business using money borrowed from the other two.
Even though the illegal business eventually becomes successful, he refuses to return the money he borrowed from his friends.
The movie will star Jack Neo, 63, Mark Lee, 54 and Henry Thia, 71.
The three also starred in the first two movies.
Money No Enough was released in 1998 and was directed by Tay Teck Lock.
Neo was an actor and screenwriter, while Lee and Thia were his co-stars.
The original movie grossed $5,800,000 and outperformed many Hollywood and Hong Kong productions in Singapore.
The second movie in the franchise, Money No Enough 2, was directed by and starred Neo.
Lee and Thia were his co-stars once again.
This time, three played new characters: a trio of brothers.
In the movie, the brothers prioritised getting rich over caring for their sick mother.
The brothers took part in a get-rich-quick scheme selling dangerous nutritional supplements.
Notably, the supplements in the movie were based on an actual incident that made headlines a few years before the film’s release.
The sequel earned $4,800,000 locally.
Neo said the upcoming third movie will also pull scenarios based on real-world news.
He said, “The world of money has seen big changes recently, but people’s ideas about money will never change.
“We will always want more money. And when we have more, you change.”
Neo added that the upcoming sequel will see shady salesmen tap on the buyer’s FOMO (fear of missing out).
Namely, they will tout NFTs (non-fungible tokens) and cryptocurrency.
Neo called NFTs and cryptocurrency to the current generation’s nutritional supplements and hot stock tips.
Interestingly enough, in February 2023, Neo launched an NFT project based on his Ah Boys to Men movies.
He even called the project bringing an “experience” to fans beyond the screen.
At the conference, Neo noted that nowadays, young people have big dreams about becoming social media stars.
He added that some believe that getting ahead involves “no-holds-barred cheating”.
Neo said, “Compared with 2008, values have changed. It’s so different now.
“People sabotage friends for money. They think scamming is okay. They want money and don’t care about the damage they do to victims.
“They’re scary.”
15 Years of Waiting
So, why did it take Neo 15 years to make another sequel?
No, it isn’t because he is making a new movie called Money Enough.
Neo said that for the past years, he was “unable to grasp a good understanding of the changes regarding money.”
However, he has decided that he has a better understanding now, making him confident enough to produce the new movie.
He said, “Money is not money nowadays. They are just numbers.”
Referencing the fact that many transactions nowadays are cashless, he also noted that earning money in 2023 is slightly different.
For instance, one could earn money just by conducting a livestream.
Lee expressed his excitement for the new movie.
Expressing his gratitude that the three actors remain healthy today, he hopes his character in the new movie has more “flesh and blood”.
Lee was previously nominated for Best Leading Actor in the 2020 Taiwan Awards for his role in the movie Number 1.
Noting that his character in the third movie has no relation to his character in the second movie, Lee said, “I don’t want my acting in the first movie to be the same as the third one.”
He added that he hopes his new character to be “able to touch the hearts of the audience and even make them feel that they have paid their worth”.
When Thia was offered to return for Money No Enough 3, he immediately accepted it.
He added, “I hope to get a Golden Horse Award!”
Thia was previously awarded Best Supporting Actor at the Asia Pacific Film Festival in 2009 for his performance in Money No Enough 2.
Relevance of Money No Enough 3 in Current Times
Money has always been a big concern for Singaporeans.
In November 2022, TODAY reported that living costs were the primary source of mental health struggles among youths.
So yes, having money is still the dream for most people here, even 25 years later.
Notably, online scams have increased rapidly in recent years.
Nowadays, nobody bats an eye when they see another news report about a new online scam.
From January to June 2023, there were 22,339 reported scam cases.
This is a 64.5% increase from the 13,576 cases reported during the same period in 2022.
In the first half of 2022, the total amount that scam victims lost was $342,100,000.
While this amount has dropped to $334,500,000 in the same period this year, it is still a hefty sum.
The police noted that job scams, e-commerce scams, fake friend call scams, phishing scams and investment scams were the top five scams of concern in the first half of 2023.
Those scam types made up 83.3% of all reported cases.
Furthermore, people have been falling for scams involving small ticket items, such as durians and beer.
It’s no wonder Neo incorporated online scams into his new movie.
Besides Money No Enough 3, Neo is also set to release the third instalment of the I Not Stupid series in 2024.
The series is about children and parents going through the local education system.
Neo explained the reasons behind bunching the movies together.
We can just turn to our friend COVID-19.
Neo explained that the third instalment of I Not Stupid was set to go out just before the pandemic reached Singapore’s shores.
Stating that the movie was supposed to be filmed in China, he added that the storyline had become outdated when the pandemic ended.
By then, Chinese educational policy had changed, so the movie is now set in Singapore.
Thus, calling the upcoming I Not Stupid 3 the third movie felt logical to him.
The first movie was released in 2002, while its sequel, I Not Stupid Too, was released in 2006.
The third film is set to be released in mid-2024.