A warning for Tran Thanh

"The Four Revengeful Ones" surpassed many competitors in revenue, but Tran Thanh is currently underperforming. The figure of 325 billion VND falls far short of the director's expectations, making the film a regrettable step backward after a series of previous box office records.

The 2025 Lunar New Year film season officially concluded amidst much controversy and debate. Despite failing to maintain momentum in the final stretch, The four assassins of Tran Thanh They still won with total revenue exceeding 320 billion VND.

However, the project faced a wave of harsh criticism, with some even calling it the worst film in the career of the director born in 1987.

The film's revenue was also significantly lower than Tran Thanh's previous works, serving as a wake-up call for him to re-evaluate his direction in future projects.

Was the choice wrong?

Almost every project by Tran Thanh creates a lot of controversy upon its release, and The Four Revengeful Ones This was no exception. From the release of the poster and trailer to its theatrical release, the film generated intense debate among audiences.

Many believe that Tran Thanh was quite smart to decide to change direction, choosing a story that leans towards humor, suitable for the Tet holiday atmosphere and also his forte.

The four assassins have been causing a stir since their trailer was released.

The director himself has shared his plans to make the film on several occasions. This comedy film tells a story that will make audiences laugh out loud, rivaling even Stephen Chow's works.

Furthermore, all three of his previous films were dramas, often exploring family conflicts, so the decision to "change things up" was logical.

However, the results were completely unexpected.

If Tomorrow This shows how much Tran Thanh has improved after many years in the director's chair. The Four Revengeful Ones It also revealed many shortcomings in the way situations were arranged and stories were handled.

The most regrettable aspect is that despite years of experience in comedy, Tran Thanh failed to make the audience laugh in the film. Many of the comedic elements felt forced and contrived, primarily catering to youth trends, resulting in a disjointed and shallow storyline.

132 minutes isn't a very long runtime for a movie. But in the second half, The Four Revengeful Ones This inevitably leaves viewers feeling bored due to the rambling story, lack of focus, and disjointed emotional flow.

Some criticized Tran Thanh for rushing the film's production. From the start of filming to the release of the official trailer, only about 4-5 months had passed.

The project had a short filming and post-production schedule to meet the Lunar New Year release deadline. Therefore, the scriptwriting process likely received less investment. Tomorrow It took many years to perfect.

Some people think Tran Thanh was too hasty.

If only Tran Thanh had slowed down a bit, and not placed so much emphasis on releasing films continuously during every Tet holiday season, the situation might have been different.

If the script had been invested in and refined more carefully, The Four Revengeful Ones It's definitely more convincing and brings more laughter to the viewers.

Tran Thanh lost to himself.

Revenue is a number that doesn't lie. This Lunar New Year season, Tran Thanh surpassed many competitors but is currently losing to his own previous performance.

I remember two years ago, Mrs. Nu's house It also sparked controversy regarding its content but quickly surpassed it. Godfather to become Vietnamese films the most popular of all time. Then, Tran Thanh surprised everyone again by breaking his own record with Tomorrow – currently the highest-grossing Vietnamese film in history with over 550 billion VND.

However, The Four Revengeful Ones This failure to help Tran Thanh achieve a hat-trick was instead a regrettable step backward.

The film quickly broke the record for the highest opening weekend in our country's history, then gradually slowed down after passing the 250 billion VND mark, subsequently losing its top spot and being consistently overtaken by competitors at the box office.

Despite Tran Thanh and his team's efforts to promote it in every way possible, The Four Revengeful Ones It is impossible to regain the position that has been lost.

What's even more painful is that the two directors who surpassed Tran Thanh were inexperienced, with debut films that had many shortcomings: Thu Trang (movie (The Billion-Dollar Kiss ) and Hoang Nam ( Ghost Lamp ).

Tran Thanh defeated his opponent but lost to himself.

In fact, the revenue of 325 billion VND The Four Revengeful Ones It remains a dream figure for many Vietnamese directors. To date, only six films in Vietnamese film history have surpassed the 200 billion VND mark, and four of them were directed by Tran Thanh.

However, 325 billion VND is certainly not what the team wanted, and it's far from the 1,000 billion VND that Tran Thanh had hoped for.

Failure of The Four Revengeful Ones This serves as a timely warning and also puts significant pressure on Tran Thanh, forcing him to be more careful in choosing topics and writing scripts for his future projects.

If he continues to repeat the same old formula, Tran Thanh will inevitably lose the audience's trust, and his position as the "king" of the Tet box office will be shaken, just like how Le Hoang and Hoai Linh once dominated the screen but then disappeared from the market.

Tran Thanh's misstep also partly shows that the tastes of Vietnamese audiences are becoming increasingly unpredictable. They are no longer easily swayed by superficial scripts and shallow stories, but have a more critical view of domestic cinema.

Therefore, filmmakers cannot afford to be complacent and must always remain alert and cautious in the fiercely competitive box office race.

Source