The numbers speak for themselves.
The 2025 Lunar New Year season saw a race between three films: The Four Villains (directed by Tran Thanh), The Billion-Dollar Kiss (directed by Thu Trang), and Falling in Love with My Best Friend (directed by Nguyen Quang Dung and Diep The Vinh), achieving a total revenue of over 565 billion VND. This year, after only 10 days of release, four Lunar New Year films: Little Rabbit!! (directed by Tran Thanh), My Father's House, One Room (directed by Truong Giang), A Gift from Heaven (directed by Le Thanh Son), and The Scent of Pho (directed by Minh Beta), have already surpassed 550 billion VND in total revenue and continue to increase. Previously, according to statistics from the independent box office website Box Office Vietnam, in just 6 days of the Lunar New Year (from February 17th to February 22nd), the total revenue of Lunar New Year films this year reached 409 billion VND, an increase of 33% compared to the same period of the 2025 Lunar New Year (306 billion VND).
Notably, although "Rabbit, Oh My!!" still leads overwhelmingly with over 350 billion VND (as of February 28th), the other three films recorded positive revenue figures: " My Father's House, One Room" surpassed 100 billion VND, "Heaven's Gift" (79 billion VND), and "The Scent of Pho" (36 billion VND). Compared to previous Tet seasons, this year's picture shows that ticket sales during Tet continue to increase, and the market is less of a "win big or lose everything" scenario.
More specific statistics from Box Office Vietnam regarding box office revenue in the first six days between the 2025-2026 Lunar New Year seasons further clarify this trend: My Father's One Room (76 billion VND) far surpassed The Silver Kiss (52 billion VND), The Gift of Heaven had four times the revenue of Love Wrongly with a Best Friend, and The Scent of Pho was also 2.5 times higher than Paddington 3 (directed by Dougal Wilson) in the same period last year. One distributor predicts that this year's Lunar New Year film season will see three films surpass the 100 billion VND mark. Besides The Little Rabbit!! and My Father's One Room , The Gift of Heaven, with its recent surge in both screenings and revenue, is also gradually reaching this milestone. This is rare when looking back at previous Lunar New Year seasons – which usually concentrated revenue on a single "box office star".
Expand the range
Having watched all four Lunar New Year films this year, viewer My Nhu (residing in Go Vap ward, Ho Chi Minh City) believes that, from its story to its visual style, " Tho Oi!! " is a work that goes against the tradition of each Lunar New Year film season. Furthermore, the film is rated T18 (not suitable for audiences under 18); while the other three films have the advantage of being aimed at a family audience. However, with its widespread coverage, controversy, and lively discussion, director Tran Thanh's film easily dominated the top spot at the box office.
In fact, many past Lunar New Year film seasons have proven that this is the "golden season" for comedies and family films. The general sentiment among audiences is to seek out cheerful, lighthearted stories with happy endings for entertainment during the first days of spring. Three out of four Lunar New Year films in 2026 still follow this trend. However, the success of "Rabbit, Oh!" also reflects that the formula "Tet must be fun" isn't always true. In reality, in recent years, the Lunar New Year film market has seen quite a few experiments: horror films like "The Yin Yang Eyes" (directed by Nhat Trung), "The House That Doesn't Sell" (directed by Hoang Tuan Cuong); drama-thriller films like "Sister Sister 2" (directed by Vu Ngoc Dang); or historical-war and period films like "Peach, Pho and Piano" (directed by Phi Tien Son), "Hong Ha Woman" (directed by Nguyen Duc Viet)... Not every work has been a box office success, but these films have contributed to broadening the audience's tastes.
The 2026 Lunar New Year film season marks a clear step forward: a film with a heavy tone and age restrictions can still top the box office. This proves that the market is no longer confined to a single formula. Audiences, especially young audiences, have changed significantly in their tastes and needs, and are willing to embrace differences if the work is backed by the filmmaker's brand, is sufficiently appealing, hits the mark, and has a well-planned marketing strategy. This year's Lunar New Year film market has shown that the boom doesn't lie in safe choices. Those who dare to "go all in," choose something new, and more importantly, identify their true target audience will have a higher chance of winning. And clearly, to "compete" in the Lunar New Year film season, a film must have its own strengths and be truly good to have a chance to stand out.
The 2026 Lunar New Year film season has shown that it's time for filmmakers to change their approach, shifting from the question "What should a Lunar New Year film be like?" to "Can a Lunar New Year film be compelling enough for the audience?". And this isn't just true for the Lunar New Year film season. Finding the answer to that question is also a prerequisite for the Vietnamese film market to move towards increasingly diverse and sustainable development.
There are three very clear positive signs from the 2026 Lunar New Year film season: increased box office demand, broader revenue distribution, and a more diverse audience. This opens up opportunities for filmmakers to boldly and confidently explore more new genres (action, horror, historical, etc.) in subsequent Lunar New Year seasons.
Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/co-hoi-doi-gio-cho-dien-anh-viet-post840466.html
![[Photo] General Secretary To Lam presides over a meeting with the Editorial Teams to summarize 100 years of the Party's leadership of the Vietnamese revolution and 40 years of implementing the National Construction Program.](https://vphoto.vietnam.vn/thumb/1200x675/vietnam/resource/IMAGE/2026/03/04/1772601288977_a1-bnd-8134-7576-jpg.webp)
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