The race is even

As of 10am on May 5, combined with the revenue from early screenings and pre-booked tickets, director Ly Hai's film has surpassed VND151 billion. However, compared to Lat Mat 7, which earned VND200 billion after only 6 days of release, Lat Mat 8's revenue is somewhat modest. Some even say that this is a step backwards for director Ly Hai.

It is worth mentioning that the April 30 and May 1 holidays this year also ended the monopoly of the Lat mat series, which had been formed and maintained for nearly a decade. Detective Kien: The Headless Case, after deciding to push the screening date forward by nearly a month, from May 16 to April 25, has become a direct competitor to Lat mat 8. With the quality receiving many positive reviews, the film by director Victor Vu proved to be no less competitive with a total revenue of more than 130 billion VND, continuously chasing closely and at times even surpassing the top revenue of the day.

On the positive side, the direct competition between Lat mat 8 and Detective Kien is a welcome sign for the Vietnamese film market. Because, in addition to providing choices for the audience, it also creates a race between producers, thereby helping to improve the quality of the films. When the market is no longer monopolized, films that are carefully and passionately made will reach the audience. This was proven in the recent 2025 Tet film season, when Tran Thanh's films were no longer in the upper hand as they had been in the previous years.

Looking at the April 30 and May 1 holiday movie season this year, a positive thing is that Vietnamese movies are still loved and chosen by audiences. Even with highly rated blockbusters like Thunderbolts: Thunder Squad, or animated films like Shin Chan - Mystery! Tenkasu Academy, Green Dinosaur Travels to the World of Comics, all have only modest revenue. This also means that opportunities for upcoming Vietnamese movies like: Under the Bottom of the Lake, Red Rain, Getting Rich with Ghosts 2, Ut Lan: Oan Linh Giu Cua... will be more open if the quality is maintained.

HAI DUY

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/cuoc-dua-can-suc-post793905.html