The 'fall' of 'Kaleidoscope' and lessons for Vietnamese filmmakers

The Vietnamese film market is growing but... unstable and lacking diversity

In early 2025, Box Office Vietnam announced that the total box office revenue in Vietnam from January 1 to December 31, 2024 reached nearly 4,700 billion VND. This is the highest number ever in the history of Vietnamese cinema. Of which, there were a total of 28 Vietnamese films released in theaters and the total revenue reached about 1,900 billion VND, accounting for 40% of the total box office revenue in the country.

The box office success of Vietnamese works in 2024 focuses on family stories, exploiting conflicts between generations and mainly drama and psychological genres for adults. The failure of other genres such as youth films, teenage adventure films... has shown a lack of diversity in taste. Due to the tendency of Vietnamese audiences to favor family generational conflicts, Vietnamese films outside this theme have not achieved good box office results.

Movie poster Kaleidoscope: Revenge of the Ghost

“In 2024, movies about a group of young people, or a trip of adventure and experiencing new things were not well received by many audiences. That is the story that happened with the movies B4S - Before Love, Claws, The Most Beautiful Summer, or most recently Kaleidoscope ...”, Box Office Vietnam commented.

Among them, the movie Kaleidoscope: Catch the Ghost, which was just released on Christmas 2024 and directed by Vo Thanh Hoa, can be considered the most controversial work in 2024. Behind the mixed opinions surrounding this movie, along with its failure in revenue, are valuable realities and lessons that need to be pondered and thought about.

Does the fact that a pure film for teenagers was adapted from a famous work by writer Nguyen Nhat Anh like Kinh Kaleidoscope , and director Vo Thanh Hoa's risk of making a film for teenagers deserve to be harshly condemned and "boycotted" and attacked as many comments from audiences on social networks have?

In the first days of its release, Kaleidoscope still received enthusiastic support from young audiences.

It is not a small challenge to bring "strange dishes" to Vietnamese cinema.

In the context of Vietnamese cinema still being limited in terms of filmmaking thinking, especially with films adapted from literary works, Vo Thanh Hoa's boldness in adapting a famous work for teenagers - which has not been exploited much in the market, and breathing a fresh breeze into it can be considered a necessary step to diversify the content of films shown in theaters in the market.

Up to now, director Vo Thanh Hoa has shown his sharp perspective and taste in capturing audience tastes, with successful works such as Hundred Billion Key (2021), Super Easy Job (2022), Super Luan Meets Super Lender (2022)... or extremely "cool" in taking on the role of producer of 2 hit horror films Ghost Dog, Lynx . However, with Kaleidoscope , Vo Thanh Hoa decided to step out of his comfort zone, switching to a newer but more challenging genre.

The fact that Kaleidoscope received mixed reviews is also proof of the extreme risk involved in producing a purely Vietnamese film with a pure adventure genre for teenagers - an audience segment that is almost forgotten in the market.

Director Vo Thanh Hoa takes the risk of recreating a classic work of his youth like Kaleidoscope.

Despite facing a wave of mixed criticism on social media, there is still a segment of the audience that positively evaluates director Vo Thanh Hoa's efforts to bring about a change in content to the Vietnamese cinema market, when he accepted the challenge and dared to risk recreating a classic work of his youth, bringing into it a fresh perspective for the younger generation who are fans of Nguyen Nhat Anh's stories as well as the TV version of the same name 20 years ago.

Must change mindset to conquer audience

The box office failure of Kaleidoscope is the motivation for young Vietnamese filmmakers who have achieved early success like Vo Thanh Hoa to be more careful and constantly exercise their thinking to continue to seek new, more creative approaches to contribute to diversifying the market, and not continue on the old path.

In fact, every film market must have filmmakers who dare to "take the plunge" - to take a new path. Only then can we bring more diverse choices to the audience, instead of just watching familiar stories about family conflicts, parents, or romantic comedies, love triangles...

"Although pure Vietnamese films shown in theaters are increasingly being welcomed and appreciated by audiences, self-producing films is not easy. The Vietnamese film market is on the rise, but there are still many challenges in terms of investment capital, technology, human resources, as well as unpredictable reception from audience tastes," director Vo Thanh Hoa shared.

Director Vo Thanh Hoa (second from left) and young actors in the movie Kaleidoscope

Screenwriter Phuong Linh added: "Current Vietnamese filmmakers not only have to face pressure from audience expectations, but also have to find ways to overcome financial, human and technological difficulties to bring their products to the public. Today's Vietnamese film market requires products that are both entertaining and have meaningful content that suits the tastes of the audience. This is not a simple challenge."

Indeed, the 'fall' of Kaleidoscope is considered a valuable lesson, as filmmakers, through it, have a more thorough understanding of the film market, as well as the unpredictable tastes of audiences, to change their mindset in conquering viewers - who are increasingly more demanding.

However, the Vietnamese film market will always need "pioneering" directors who tackle new topics like Vo Thanh Hoa or anyone who dares to take such a risk. Although the film Kinh Kaleidoscope is considered a failure of Vo Thanh Hoa, it cannot be denied that the memorable lessons that come with it are the necessary "stepping stone" to contribute to promoting a more diverse development for the current Vietnamese film market.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/cu-nga-ngua-cua-kinh-van-hoa-va-bai-hoc-cho-nha-lam-phim-viet-185250113135335225.htm