Concerns when making Vietnamese action movies

Despite large budgets and difficult production, many Vietnamese action films still fail at the box office upon release, causing producers to lose tens of billions of dong.

Good movies can be counted on the fingers of one hand.

Action films were once considered a lucrative market for filmmakers. Vietnamese films Exploiting this theme, especially after the success of the film "Hai Phuong," which helped Ngo Thanh Van earn 200 billion VND at the box office, filmmakers have paid more attention to exploiting this theme.

Next came films like: 578: The Madman's Bullet, The Wolf... In 2024, at least two action films were scheduled to be released. Domino: The Last Escape (directed by Nguyen Phuc Huy Cuong) and Hot Girl Squad (directed by Vinh Khuong) were scheduled to be shown in theaters at the end of October 2024. However, both projects suffered losses and failed to attract audience interest.

The film Domino: The Last Exit left theaters on October 25th, grossing approximately 600 million VND in ticket sales. This is a new project by actor Thuan Nguyen. The film has a large budget, having been filmed entirely in the United States. Notably, the theme of the Vietnamese underworld in America has not been addressed in any previous Vietnamese film. The action scenes in the film are beautifully choreographed and thrilling. However, when screened in Vietnam, the film did not attract much attention from audiences, with screenings consistently having low attendance.

Sharing a similar fate, "Hot Girl Squad" (directed by Vinh Khuong) is facing difficulties at the box office. Released on October 25th, the film's current revenue, according to Box Office Vietnam statistics, is approximately 50 million VND.

The financial losses of the two films Domino: The Last Stand and Hot Girl Squad were predictable, as the media and audience were largely uninterested before their release. Furthermore, the content and acting of the cast were not highly rated.

For many years, Vietnamese action films have been a difficult challenge for filmmakers. Directors often only dare to make family dramas or comedies to attract audiences and ease the financial pressure. Meanwhile, an action film project can cost 50-60 billion VND, instead of 10-20 billion VND like family dramas or comedies.

Looking back, the number of successful Vietnamese action films can be counted on one hand, such as: Hai Phuong, Lat Mat 5: 48 Hours, Chi Muoi Ba: 3 Days of Life and Death... However, the number of failed action films is countless. Besides the two recent Vietnamese films mentioned above, since 2020, other films that have lost money include 578: The Madman's Bullet, which had an investment of 50-60 billion VND but was withdrawn from theaters with only a few billion VND in revenue. Ngo Thanh Van's Thanh Soi also had a large investment but ultimately suffered losses, with revenue reaching only 22 billion VND.

A tough game

Admittedly, domestic action films are receiving increasingly large budgets, and this is a tough playing field for Vietnamese filmmakers.

Regarding the reasons, it's clear that Vietnamese action films simply cannot compete with blockbusters from countries with developed film industries like the US and South Korea.

Another factor that Vietnamese action movies The reason Vietnamese action films haven't been commercially successful is because they haven't yet established a habit of going to the cinema among audiences. Many viewers avoid Vietnamese action films when choosing tickets, believing that the investment and film quality are not good. This also raises concerns for producers regarding their ineffective marketing and audience outreach.

With Vietnamese action films, audiences easily compare them to foreign projects, as the style and execution are often accused of "imitating" foreign blockbusters. Audiences need action films that possess a unique character, distinct from the action stories already explored by filmmakers worldwide.

Other Vietnamese film genres are doing quite well in exploiting local characteristics. Therefore, the box office revenue of these projects is generally positive. Perhaps, instead of blindly following and copying international filmmaking techniques, Vietnamese filmmakers should be more assertive in choosing themes and stories that are more relatable and accessible to domestic audiences...

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