Vietnamese Cinema in 2024: Horror Films Reign

Among the 5 highest-grossing films at the Vietnamese box office in 2024, 3 are horror films: "Ma Da", "Quy Cau" and "Get Rich With Ghosts".

2024 is recognized as the year that Vietnamese cinema set a new record for total domestic box office revenue, estimated at more than 4,400 billion VND. Of which, up to 5 films have successfully surpassed the hundred billion VND revenue mark, marking a year of great success for the country's cinema industry.

From deep psychological and emotional films like Tomorrow, family as gentle as Flip Side 7 , or the elements of humor combined with horror in Get rich with ghosts and creepy experiences with Ghost and Ghost Dog , Vietnamese cinema has met the diverse entertainment needs of the audience.

Tomorrow

Mai is the highest-grossing film of 2024. The film was released on the occasion of Lunar New Year and earned 551 billion VND after 3 months of showing. With a record achievement, Tomorrow has passed Mrs. Nu's house (2023) to become the highest-grossing domestic film in history. The film's resounding success has made Tran Thanh Vietnam's first trillion-dollar director.

Movie — Tran Thanh's movie "Mai" has the highest revenue in history.

The film revolves around the life of the female lead named Mai (Phuong Anh Dao), a nearly 40-year-old massage worker who accidentally meets musician Duong (Tuan Tran) and is pursued by him. Lacking self-confidence, Mai does not have the courage to accept the feelings of a guy 7 years her junior. The work features the participation of actors including Phuong Anh Dao, Tuan Tran, People's Artist Ngoc Giau, Hong Dao...

As his third film as a director, Tran Thanh shows clear improvement, from the camera angles, scene transitions to storytelling. The film no longer has scenes of arguing or "market" dialogue between characters. Mai is considered Tran Thanh's best film to date.

Flip Side 7: A Wish

Flip Side 7: A Wish has excellently won the second place at the box office this year. The film directed by Ly Hai created a fever during the April 30 - May 1 holiday, earning an impressive revenue of 482 billion VND. This success has made Ly Hai the second trillion-dollar director in Vietnam, after Tran Thanh.

Besides, Flip Side 7 also made history in Vietnamese cinema when it became the second highest-grossing film in the domestic market.

"Flip Side 7: A Wish" has a revenue of 482 billion VND.

Flip Side 7 is a gentle family film, telling the story of Mrs. Nguyen Thi Hai (Thanh Hien), a 73-year-old widow and her five grown children. After Mrs. Hai had an accident and broke her leg, her five children pushed the responsibility of taking care of them. She had to go to each house, witnessing the situation of her children with her own eyes. The work focuses on a painful question in modern society - when parents get old, which child has the responsibility to take care of them?

The film stars a talented cast of actors such as Thanh Hien, Truong Minh Cuong, Dinh Y Nhung, Quach Ngoc Tuyen, Tran Kim Hai and many others.

Get rich with ghosts

Get rich with ghosts reached 3rd place with an impressive revenue of 128 billion VND. The film was directed by Nhat Trung, marking the return to the big screen of Meritorious Artist Hoai Linh. In addition, the project also has the participation of a promising young cast such as Tuan Tran, Diep Bao Ngoc,...

The film takes the theme of family love with Meritorious Artist Hoai Linh playing the role of Mr. Dao, the father of the character Lanh (Tuan Tran). Mr. Dao works as a priest, raising his son Lanh alone, placing high expectations on his son's success. However, Lanh is addicted to cockfighting, gambling, and debt.

"Get Rich with Ghosts" has an impressive revenue of 128 billion VND.

While hiding from a debt collector, Lanh accidentally meets a female ghost named Na (Diep Bao Ngoc). Na asks Lanh to help find her child, in return, she helps Lanh get rich, but at the cost of her father's health, and tragedy arises from here.

Launched on the occasion of National Day September 2, Get rich with ghosts attracted a lot of attention from the audience and continuously led the box office for many weeks, despite having to compete directly with another Vietnamese film, Two Salts.

Ghost

Ghost is the 4th highest-grossing Vietnamese film of the year with a revenue of 127 billion VND. Notably, this work is also the highest-grossing domestic horror film in the history of Vietnamese cinema.

Before its release, "Ma da" did not receive much attention from experts and audiences. However, the film created a surprising fever when it was officially released, reaching the hundred billion revenue milestone after only 10 days.

Ma Da chose a suspenseful and thrilling way to tell a folk and spiritual story about the river area. The main highlight of the film is the hidden life of those who work to recover corpses from the river.

The main character in the film is Mrs. Le (played by Viet Huong) who offended Ma Da while bringing the body of a drowned person back to his family. Ma Da kidnapped Nhung, Mrs. Le's daughter. She had to ask for help from those around her to set out together to find a way to save her daughter.

This is a work that shows a Viet Huong who is dedicated to her job, soaking in water for many hours a day to film in Ca Mau and Can Gio. Viet Huong also had half of her face paralyzed while filming this film. The success of Ghost heated up the box office after a rather gloomy summer and affirmed the appeal of the horror genre in Vietnam.

Demon Dog

Demon Dog ranked 5th with revenue of 108 billion VND. The film was released in 2023, specifically on December 29, 2023, and most of the revenue was recorded in 2024.

Demon Dog is the debut film of young director Le Thanh Luan. Initially, the project was released in theaters quite quietly, but later the crew quickly had reasonable promotional strategies to help the film reach the audience more. The film also brings together a cast of talented stars such as People's Artist Kim Xuan, Quoc Quan, Van Dung, Quang Tuan...

In addition, the film has attracted attention thanks to its attractive theme, exploiting the folk horror element "Dog wearing a hat", an oral story that mainly exists in the Northern region. The film revolves around the crimes and karma of two families who practice dog slaughter. They have to pay the price, bear the tragedies and mourning that come one after another. From there, the film condemns the hunting and killing of dogs.

Furthermore, the film's release date was also very favorable, with few strong competitors, contributing to its box office success. The film not only turned the tide but also made a lot of money despite its low budget, creating a positive signal after a long period of sluggish cinemas.

Source: https://baolangson.vn/dien-anh-viet-nam-2024-phim-kinh-di-len-ngoi-5032275.html