Controversial "Yin and Yang Road" still tops the box office

"The Road of Yin and Yang" follows a young man named Trong Nhan (Bach Cong Khanh) on a bus carrying the body of a traffic accident victim from Ho Chi Minh City to Dak Nong. On the way, he encounters many horrifying stories. By chance, Nhan gives a student named Thuy Chi (Lan Thy) a ride back to the city. The two gradually become close and develop feelings for each other. But from here, Nhan gets closer to the horrifying secret that his father is hiding.

Before its release, the film scored points for its unique theme - the difficulties of the ambulance driver profession - people who not only face the pressure of life and death, but are also caught up in tragic stories and sometimes mysterious phenomena that cannot be explained. However, right in the early screening (evening of March 26), the film caused controversy when it used an ambulance to transport actors Bach Cong Khanh, Lan Thy, Dai Nghia... to attend the premiere event.

The film crew of "The Yin-Yang Road" caused controversy for using an ambulance to transport the cast to an event. Photo: Producer

After the incident of using an ambulance for the wrong purpose, honking loudly, causing noise on a long stretch of road, affecting people living near the event area, the same evening the Traffic Police Department (PC08), Ho Chi Minh City Police invited the driver to work, made a record, and at the same time revoked the ambulance's priority signal license.

Meanwhile, the producer of "The Yin and Yang Road" apologized and said they would fix the consequences. A day later, the crew continued to send a letter of apology to the cast, and confirmed that the use of an ambulance on the red carpet was arranged by the unit. The cast only followed the instructions planned by the producer. Therefore, the unit took full responsibility and apologized for affecting the reputation and lives of the cast.

After the scandal and facing a wave of boycott from the audience, "The Yin Yang Road" still led the box office last week with a revenue of 14.9 billion VND and reached 19.8 billion VND (as of the afternoon of March 31). However, with many Vietnamese films recently released, the sales of "The Yin Yang Road" have made many people worry about the film's durability in the market.

According to Box Office Vietnam (an independent statistics unit), the film sold 179,536 tickets with a total of 7,062 screenings. The controversial factor surrounding the content did not touch on the dark corners of the profession of an ambulance driver; the acting was only average for Bach Cong Khanh and Lan Thy; the visual effects and images were not yet eye-catching... are the reasons why the work is difficult to stand out strongly. Without significant changes or positive word-of-mouth effects, it is very likely that "The Yin and Yang Road" will quickly lose steam before new competitors about to hit theaters.

The film led the Vietnamese box office last week with revenue of nearly 15 billion VND. Photo: DPCC

In second place, "The Devil Enters the Inner Circle" after 3 weeks of release still maintains a certain attraction, bringing in an additional 3.6 billion VND. This is not a very high number but enough to help the film stand firm against new competitors. The film sold 40,056 tickets with 2,486 screenings. However, the decline in revenue is also understandable when the film has been released for a long time and no longer maintains great curiosity from the audience.

Meanwhile, "Snow White" ranked third but did not have a good performance. The film earned more than 1.7 billion VND in Vietnam and received many negative reviews. The film sold 15,631 tickets with 1,126 screenings. Notably, on IMDb, the film only scored 1.6/10 points, an extremely low number, reflecting the disappointment of the audience.

Globally, “Snow White” grossed over $143 million, but was still a huge failure considering its production budget of $270 million (not including marketing costs). This is proof that not all Hollywood films are guaranteed to be successful, especially when the content and presentation do not meet the public’s expectations.

Revenue of "Snow White" is unlikely to reach break-even point. Photo: Publisher

With the above figures, it can be seen that last week was a rather gloomy week for the Vietnamese box office, when no film really created a big impact. However, this may just be a temporary lull before a series of new "blockbusters" hit the screens in April.

Some notable works include "Tunnel - Sun in the Dark" (expected to be released on April 4), "Finding the Body: Headless Ghost" (April 18) and especially the confrontation between "Detective Kien" and "Flip Side 8: Vong Tay Nang" on the occasion of April 30 - May 1. The appearance of these works promises to revive the Vietnamese film market, as the entertainment needs of the audience during the holidays are always higher.

In particular, this week the box office revenue of the film "Tunnels" by director Bui Thac Chuyen is expected to explode. The film takes on a wartime theme, aiming to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and the reunification of the country. The setting of "Tunnels" is in the late 1960s, when the resistance war against the US was taking place intensely.

Nha An

Source: https://baophapluat.vn/am-duong-lo-gay-tranh-cai-van-dung-dau-phong-ve-post543998.html