Vietnamese cinema sets new record, but still causes controversy

Although the year-end summary has not been released yet, according to my own survey based on boxofficevietnam.com, the total revenue of the 10 most popular domestic films in 2023, up to now, has reached 1,375 billion VND. This figure has surpassed the total revenue of 2019, considered the year with the highest domestic revenue of all time for Vietnamese cinema. The new record was set right after the pandemic, showing that the potential of the Vietnamese film market is still very large. However, the controversies surrounding the quality of films and the audience's prejudice against Vietnamese films have not improved.

Records broken

By the end of 2023, Vietnamese cinema will have 26 films released, including 4 films to be released in December: Soul Eater, Sun Person (co-released on December 8), Ghost Craft, On the Drinking Table Under the Muppet Table (co -released on December 29). This number is much lower than before the pandemic. Mr. Nguyen Hoang Hai, Content Director of CGV, said that before the pandemic (2016-2019), the number of Vietnamese films released in domestic theaters was around 42 - 56 films/year. But in contrast to the number of films, domestic film revenue this year has had spectacular growth with many personal records set. Tran Thanh's Mrs. Nu's House broke the old record of Bo Gia with revenue of up to 458.6 billion VND; Lat mat 6: Ban ve dinh menh by Ly Hai reached 272.8 billion VND, the highest in this series of branded films.

A scene from the movie Mrs. Nu's House (Photo: Provided by the film crew).

The revenue milestone of over 100 billion VND (considered a dream number for Vietnamese films) includes 3 other films: Chi Chi Em Em 2 (director Vu Ngoc Dang), Sieu Luan Met Sieu Lon (Vo Thanh Hoa) and Dat Rung Phuong Nam (Nguyen Quang Dung). The last wife of director Victor Vu also almost reached this milestone. In the list of the 10 most popular films of the year (in the whole market), there are 6 Vietnamese films - this is also another record for domestic cinema. Mr. Nguyen Hoang Hai acknowledged that the Vietnamese film industry is showing many positive signs and is considered to have made a leap forward, at least in terms of revenue. For the first time, the market share of domestic films is estimated to account for more than 42% of the total market. This localization rate, according to my research - is among the few in the world's cinema, similar to strong cinemas in Asia such as China, Korea, Japan and India; but much higher than the strong film industries in Europe (usually only accounting for less than 25%) and countries in the Southeast Asian region (over or under 30%). Mr. Nguyen Hoang Hai provided additional data to show the rapid development of the domestic film market: " From the list of Vietnamese films with the highest revenue of all time in recent decades, we can see the promising developments of the market. In particular, from 2020 to now, there have been 10 films in this group and 3 films in the group with the highest revenue ever if we simply look at the absolute numbers ". In the economic conditions of the world and Vietnam facing many difficulties, Vietnamese cinema is still growing with many records set, showing that the potential of the market is still very large.

Top 10 highest-grossing Vietnamese films in 2023 (compiled by boxofficevn.com) 1, Mrs. Nu's House 458.6 billion VND 2, Lat mat 6 272.8 billion VND 3, Dat rung Phuong Nam 140 billion VND 4, Super muddy meets super liar 121.4 billion VND 5, Chi chi em em 2 121 billion VND 6, The last wife 95.8 billion VND 7, Con Nhót mot chong 75.6 billion VND 8, Ke an danh 43.5 billion VND 9, Vong nhi 24.8 billion VND 10, Chiem sua 19.8 billion VND (Revenue up to December 4, 2023)

Not only commercial films with names or brands guaranteed at the box office, the film market in the past year also received a few positive signals from domestic documentaries or animations, which rarely happened before. The music documentary Tri Am: Nguoi mot thoi gian by My Tam earned over 12 billion VND. Meanwhile, Nhung dua tre trong suong - a documentary by young director Ha Le Diem, after being included in the "shortlist" of the top 15 of Oscar 2023, was widely released and earned 2.3 billion VND, a record for Vietnamese documentaries. In the field of animated films for children, which has "left the battlefield empty" for international animated films to bomb, an interesting phenomenon also appeared last year, the film Wolfoo and the mysterious island was well received by many young audiences and earned over 5 billion VND. This is the first animated film from Vietnam to be shown on the big screen. The successful "opening" of this animated film brand with millions of followers on Youtube promises many other "made in Vietnam" animated films to be released in theaters in the near future to regain market share from international animated films.

Still can't escape the bad stereotypes about Vietnamese movies

That does not mean that last year was a "total victory" for Vietnamese films. Many Vietnamese films, despite being invested with quite high budgets (around 10 billion VND), still suffered heavy losses with a "low" revenue of 2-4 billion VND, such as Fanti (1.8 billion VND); When we are 25 (3 billion VND), Ben phe zombie (4 billion VND), Live: Livestream (2 billion VND), Giao lo 8675 (2.4 billion VND), Touch happiness (2.3 billion VND)... Even though not as "disastrous" as previous years, many films failed miserably last year mainly due to poor quality, or worse, being a type of film ordered to be broadcast on online film platforms and then shown in theaters. That is also a warning for filmmakers who disrespect the audience and themselves, not anyone else, when they receive a bitter ending for themselves. Even with successful films, including films that cost hundreds of billions and set box office records, controversies about the quality of the film and even… outside the film still rage on social media. In the past year, at least two "hundred-billion-dollar film" phenomena have caused a media war on social media: Mrs. Nu's House and Southern Forest Land . On the positive side, these controversies attract crowds, making cinema a major source of information, appearing in "spotlight" positions and stirring up the box office. On the negative side, it shows that the audience's prejudice and antipathy towards Vietnamese films is still very heavy. Not to mention, a lot of information and comments about Vietnamese films are still distorted, baseless or… going too far from the film. Mr. Nguyen Hoang Hai commented: " In the positive context of the film market in 2023, the quality of films is still a controversial issue. Release time and luck also contribute greatly to the revenue of hundreds of billions of films this year. This raises the issue of the market needing sustainable development. The number of audiences going to the cinema depends on the quantity and quality of films, especially Vietnamese films ". Not to mention, the reality shows that behind the hundred-billion-dollar films are the names of prestigious producers, directors and actors with experience in the profession. As for unknown directors, the opportunity to succeed at the box office is much more difficult, making training a next generation of filmmakers with guaranteed reputations a big challenge for Vietnamese films in the near future. Vietnamese cinema is facing a great opportunity to conquer and expand the market. And it is very difficult to have a "golden" time like now to take off. A "several trillion" film industry is something that can be seen right now. Of course, the opportunity is great but the challenge is even greater!

Dantri.com.vn