For Vietnam’s cinema industry, there are two big business seasons a year – Tet holiday and the April-May holiday. 

Vietnam’s films also hit the screen at other times of the year as well. However, producers don’t launch their movies at the same time as their rivals, and they tend to avoid direct competition with foreign blockbusters.

The Tet movie season saw the blockbuster ‘Mai’ which brought revenue of over VND550 billion, Gap lai chi bau (Meet My Pregnant Sister Again) with VND92 billion, and Dao, Pho va Piano (Peach blossoms, Pho and Piano), a state invested film with revenue of VND22 billion.

Meanwhile, other films suffered failure. ‘Tra’ by Le Hoang hit the screen on the first day of Tet holiday and left just days later with modest revenue of VND1.6 billion, and it’s unclear when it will return. It could not compete with two strong rivals – Mai and Gap Lai Chi Bau.

The same occurred with Sang Den (Bright Lights). It left cinemas and came back later, but could only bring low turnover of VND3.4 billion. Meanwhile, the producer of Quy Co Thua Ke 2 (the Hairess) has collected only VND6.4 billion despite ad campaigns and hot scenes.

However, the biggest tragedy is occurring with Doa Hoa Mong Manh (A fragile flower). It hit the screen on April 12 but has brought revenue of only VND400 million despite large-scale PR campaigns and information that the shoot was done in the US.

Mai Thu Huyen, the producer, said, in addition to Vietnam, the film will be distributed in India from May 31 and will be aired in 60 cinema complexes in the US, at AMC, Regal, Cinemark, Angelikca and Emagine. This is believed to be a good way out when the film fails in the domestic market.

Analysts have not made predictions about ticket sales and revenue of Doa Hoa Mong Manh in overseas markets, but warned that it would be difficult to compete with foreign products.

Prior to that, 578 – Phat Dan cua Ke Dien (578 Magnum), with production cost of VND60 billion, collected VND3.5 billion in revenue only after 10 days of release. The producer said the film was expected to be aired in 62 countries and bring turnover of $2.62 million in 2023. However, there have been no official statistics about the distribution plan.

To date, the biggest successful export is ‘Mai’. In addition to the 6.5 million tickets sold in the domestic market with revenue of VND520 billion, Mai also brought $2 million (VND50 billion) after two years of distribution in the US and Europe at the same time as reported by Deadline on April 4, 2024.

Mai has become the first Vietnamese film in history that hit high revenue levels in both continents. Box Office Mojo reported global revenue of $23 million (VND575 billion) of the film. Meanwhile, Tran Thanh, the producer of ‘Mai’, has announced that the film will be screened in Australia and Taiwan (China) as well.

How to succeed in foreign markets?

Analysts say that to conquer the hearts of foreign viewers, Vietnamese films need to relate stories with global characteristics, or show typical cultural characteristics of Vietnam which raises curiosity and prompts viewers to learn about the culture. 

Also, in order to distribute movies abroad, Vietnamese producers must have methodical marketing strategies, and connect with distributors who have good cinema networks.

In addition, movies can also be distributed on online platforms. Since Covid-19, many Hollywood’s blockbusters with revenue of $100-200 million have been aired on Netflix, not at cinemas. With online platforms, the masterpieces can approach hundreds of millions of viewers all over the globe.

Bringing movies to international festivals is also effective marketing which can open more markets for products. However, analysts warn that the method will be effective for excellent products or products suited to international viewers’ tastes.

Nguyen Phong Viet, a respected critic, said filmmakers can find ways out by trying to air their films on different platforms, rather than relying on cinemas.