Series of Vietnamese films suffer heavy losses despite huge investments

"Domino: The Last Exit" - a Vietnamese action film filmed in the US - only earned 600 million VND, making it one of the biggest loss-making films of 2024.

December 23, Prince of Bac Lieu - one of the most notable film projects at the end of the year - earned 35 billion VND after two weeks of screening, according to Box Office Vietnam. Without disclosing the specific budget, the crew representative said the film had a high capital, with the set alone costing 10 billion VND. Director Ly Minh Thang said he was sad that the film did not break even, but he and the producer encouraged each other to try their best.

End of October, Domino: The Last Exit - 18+ action film, starring Quoc Cuong and Thuan Nguyen - only earned 600 million VND, left theaters after two weeks of release, belonging to the group of projects with the heaviest losses of the year. The film was advertised as being filmed mainly in the US, director Nguyen Phuc Huy Cuong coordinated with a team of international experts to apply many modern technologies in the chase and gunfight scenes. However, the script has many "errors" in logic and dialogue, following the same path as many Vietnamese films of the same genre.

Set in America, Fragile flower (directed by Mai Thu Huyen) is one of the films that "died young". When it was released in mid-April, the work did not even make it into the top 10 highest-grossing films of the week, being surpassed by foreign films such as Godzilla x Kong, Exhuma: Tomb Raider overwhelming. The film stopped at 430 million VND in revenue, despite being actively promoted at film festivals at home and abroad. Inspired by the life of the late famous singer Ngoc Lan, the film received negative points because of its old story and predictable plot.

Quoc Cuong (left) in "Domino" - a film about the confrontation of mafia organizations in the US. Photo: CGV

Many projects with star actors and powerful crews also failed. When released in June, Claws is expected to be a highlight of the cinema market. Exploiting the survival theme - a new genre with a common ground, the work has the participation of "hundred billion director" Le Thanh Son and Tuan Tran - the male lead. Tomorrow , the film will have a record revenue of 520 billion VND.

The film finished with four billion VND, although the producer initially expected 300 billion VND for the film to break even and make a profit. Without disclosing the investment details, the crew said it was high, estimated at tens of billions of VND, of which the CGI stage for creating the monster accounted for 30% of the total budget.

Similarly, the presence of "box office king" Thai Hoa could not save the film. The Price of Happiness - 18+ film produced by Xuan Lan and her husband. Released in April, the film earned more than 26 billion VND, losing out to the heat of Flip Side 7 (Ly Hai). With an announced investment of 37 billion VND, the film lost tens of billions, due to having to share with the theater chain (the usual ratio is 5:5). The film failed to attract attention partly because the script had many logical errors. The series of details about the stormy marriage was forced and imposed, while the supporting cast such as Uyen An and Lam Thanh Nha acted unnaturally.

In addition to the failure of large projects, many small films suffered the same fate, such as Hot girl squad (68 million VND), Save the teacher (139 million VND), Tea (one billion dong), 4th Floor Murder (two billion dong), B4S - Before Love (VND 3.8 billion), The most beautiful summer (four billion VND), according to data from Box Office Vietnam - an independent box office monitoring unit. About 14 domestic projects suffered losses, accounting for half of the films released in theaters this year.

"The Price of Happiness" failed at the box office despite the participation of Thai Hoa. Photo: Galaxy

Producers see failure as a lesson to examine more closely the trends and tastes of the audience. Returning after seven years from I'm not 18 yet - a one-time hit movie, Le Thanh Son said about the fall of Claws is an experience for him about "climbing high, falling hard", because of taking risks with a genre that is picky about customers. Director Ngoc Lam (film) The Price of Happiness ) said he still has many shortcomings in understanding the tastes of viewers. In addition to the film being age-restricted (not for audiences under 18), he thinks the theme of marital conflict is not attractive to young people.

Many filmmakers are trying to find ways to release their films in foreign markets to recoup their losses. Director Ly Minh Thang said that early next year, the crew plans to release Prince of Bac Lieu in Australia, New Zealand, the US and the Southeast Asian and Taiwanese markets. However, the fact that the film was not received as expected made him feel apprehensive and worried about future projects. The director is putting it on hold. Night-time Queen of the Night - a movie about Queen Mother Duong Van Nga, starring Thanh Hang - because "we feel the market still has many risks".

"Sister-in-law" - the movie that unexpectedly caused a fever in Vietnamese theaters at the end of the year. Video : Provided by the film crew

At the end of the year, two unknowns appeared at Vietnamese cinemas, expected to help the box office improve. Sister in law - the film starring Viet Huong, Hong Dao, Ngoc Trinh - surprised everyone when it earned 35 billion VND after five days of release, receiving high word-of-mouth effects. Although not investing much in the setting (the crew filmed mainly in one location), the film exploited the authentic story of the sister-in-law - brother-in-law relationship, with harmonious acting from the cast. Kaleidoscope The movie version - released during the Christmas season - is highly anticipated by many Gen Z audiences after the appeal of the 2004 TV series.

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