Pat Boonnitipat directed “How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies.” Lauren DeCicca for The New York Times

A winning Thai tear-jerker

The movie “How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies” has become a surprise runaway hit across Southeast Asia. People have been posting tear-streaked videos to social media after watching it.

The film explores the tensions that arise in a family before the impending death of one head of the household, and the gender biases that persist. As an aimless young man takes care of his dying grandmother, initially in hopes of inheriting her house, he grows to better understand the complicated web of characters that make up his Thai-Chinese family.

A 27-year-old financial consultant in Singapore uploaded a TikTok video of himself choking up after seeing the film, with the caption “Running over to hug my Grandma now!!”