Losing appeal, disaster-themed movies fail

Haunting memories from the COVID-19 period still haunt the public, making it seem like the public is no longer interested in what is portrayed on screen.

The late actor Lee Sun-kyun could not save “Secret Project: Bridge Disaster” from losing money at the Vietnamese box office. Photo: CJ CGV Vietnam

Box office disaster

“Secret Project: Bridge Disaster” - the last film of the late actor Lee Sun Kyun - is a disaster and horror blockbuster of Korean cinema with a production budget of 18.5 billion won (over 13 million USD). The film describes a series of disasters: A series of accidents on the bridge causes the car carrying the experimental dogs to crash.

The dogs were trained to hunt down escaped terrorists and attack civilians. Thick fog prevented rescue efforts, leading to a series of disasters: helicopter crashes, oil tanker explosions, toxic gas leaks, bridge collapses... The bridge became a place of life and death, like a miniature society reflecting the diversity of human relationships. Faced with the risk of life and death, each person's ego was exposed.

After its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival and being enthusiastically received by audiences at home (Korean box office revenue of 4.8 million USD), the film eagerly entered the international market, but suddenly... fell off its horse in Vietnam. As of August 8, after more than 2 weeks of showing, "Secret Project: Disaster on the Bridge" earned only 22 billion VND, far less than other blockbusters of other genres such as "Deadpool & Wolverine" (74 billion VND), "Conan 27: 1 Million Dollar Star" (82 billion VND).

Sharing the same fate is another disaster film of Korean cinema: “Siege in the Air” based on the real-life hijacking event in 1971. Premiering from July 18, the film earned only... 9 billion VND in the Vietnamese market. Previously, “Claws” by director Le Thanh Son, promoted as the biggest survival and disaster film invested in Vietnam, also suffered a heavy failure. With a production budget of tens of billions of VND, the film left theaters with a revenue of just over 3 billion VND, causing the producer to lose heavily.

People in the industry jokingly say that because of their reputation, disaster-themed movies have become true box office disasters, even though the quality of the movies is not bad.

Vietnamese audiences are no longer interested in disaster themes.

The above figures prove one thing: Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnamese audiences are no longer excited about this genre. disaster movie which was previously quite popular with names like “2012”, “Snowpiercer”, “Train to Busan” or “San Andreas”.

Media expert and film investor An Nguyen believes that the most attractive element of the disaster film genre is to evoke collective memories of an event, a detail, a story. “The audience can find empathy, fear, and anxiety about what is witnessed on screen. If the film is done well, it will stimulate adrenaline, making the audience unable to take their eyes off the screen. Disaster films are a difficult genre, full of challenges for any filmmaker,” An Nguyen shared with Lao Dong.

One of the functions of cinema is to help the public get caught up in fictional stories, thereby forgetting the sometimes harsh reality of real life. However, when the world has just experienced a real epidemic, it seems that disasters are no longer a "dish" that the public likes," said director Nguyen Huu Tuan.

Looking at the successes at the Vietnamese box office in 2023 and 2024, the most popular films among audiences are all family, light-hearted romance, comedy, animation or action blockbusters. Should Vietnamese filmmakers and film importers pay attention to this detail to avoid heavy losses in the film business?

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