While the first five months of the year saw the spectacular success of "Mai," "Face Off 7: One Wish," and "Gap Lai Chi Bau," with a combined revenue of over 1,000 billion VND, Vietnamese cinemas also recorded a series of films that failed miserably. Seven films earned less than 20 billion VND collectively.

For years, the Tet film season has been a lucrative period for filmmakers, with many films aiming for release at the start of the new year and continuing to draw audiences for weeks. However, this season is fiercely competitive, with only one or two films typically achieving high revenues if they capture the audience's tastes, while others face heavy losses. The challenging economy has tightened audiences' spending, meaning films that are not exceptionally good and attractive struggle to sell tickets.

While Lunar New Year and the April 30 - May 1 holiday are prime times for film releases, only well-established names can maintain box office popularity. The most notable example is Tran Thanh's "Mai," which quickly rose to become the highest-grossing film in Vietnamese history with 520 billion VND upon its release.

Nhat Trung's " Gap Lai Chi Bau," despite more modest earnings than "Mai," still brought in 92.7 billion VND. " Face Off 7: One Wish," released in late April, quickly surpassed the ticket sales of its predecessors, earning 478 billion VND and securing the runner-up position in Vietnamese box office revenue.

Seven films earn only 20 Billion VND

In contrast to the success of the three blockbusters mentioned above, cinemas have also witnessed the failure of several domestic films. These include “Doa Hoa Mong Manh (Fragile Flower) (430 million VND), "Tra" (1.6 billion VND), “An Mang Lau 4” (Murder on the 4th Floor) (2 billion VND), "Sang Den” (Bright Lights) (3.4 billion VND), “Mong Vuot” (Claws) and “B4S – Truoc Gio Yeu” (B4S - Before Love) (3.8 billion VND), and “Quy co Thua Ke 2” (Lady Heiress 2) (6.4 billion VND).

The total revenue of these seven films barely reached 20 billion VND (as of the morning of June 19). These figures indicate substantial losses, considering that half of the revenue goes to cinemas, not including costs for media and distribution.

Notably, even films from directors with previous blockbuster hits have struggled. For example, Le Thanh Son, director of “Em Chua 18" (Jailbait) (which earned 170 billion VND in 2017), saw his film "Claws" earn only 3 billion VND. Despite high production costs and expectations of 300 billion VND in revenue, the film's earnings fell far short.

Similarly, director Le Hoang, who once made a splash with "Gai Nhay" in 2003, faced failure with his latest film "Tra." Released alongside "Mai" and "Gap Lai Chi Bau," "Tra" received significant media attention for its provocative scenes but was criticized for its outdated and unengaging content, earning just over 1 billion VND and withdrawing from theaters after three days.

"Sang Den" also retreated due to low revenue, failing to compete with bigger films. Despite a re-release in March 2024, it earned only 3.4 billion VND, according to Box Office Vietnam data.

Vietnamese films lag behind foreign animations

The summer movie season has started, but aside from " Face Off 7: One Wish," no domestic film has gained significant attention, often "falling off the horse" within the first three days of showing – a crucial period for determining a film's success.

The summer season is dominated by Hollywood blockbusters and animated films that attract young audiences. Animated films are popular among all age groups, leading to high revenues even if their quality is not outstanding.

For example, "Doraemon: Nobita and the Earth Symphony," released at the end of May, reached 140 billion VND after nearly four weeks. "Inside Out 2," Pixar's animated blockbuster, earned 30 billion VND in Vietnam within its first week. Early July will see the release of "Despicable Me 4," expected to achieve huge revenue due to the beloved Minion characters.

Apart from strong brands like Tran Thanh and Ly Hai, which guarantee box office success, releasing a film during the summer without unique and appealing content is unwise. Only family films with universal appeal can "survive" the fierce summer competition.

US$1 = VND25,400

Quynh An