Beyond just a competition for box office revenue, this year's Lunar New Year films also reflect a shift in filmmaking mindset, distribution strategies, and audience preferences, highlighting significant developments in the Vietnamese film market.
Lunar New Year box office - bustling but unpredictable.
The Lunar New Year has long been considered the "golden season" of Vietnamese cinema, where producers place their biggest bets on revenue and brand awareness. The 2026 Lunar New Year film season continues to witness fierce competition as many Vietnamese films are simultaneously released from the first day of the Lunar New Year, notably "Thỏ ơi!!", "Nhà ba tôi một phòng", "Mùi phở", and "Báu vật trời cho".
The cast of the film "The Scent of Pho" interacts with the audience at the premiere screening. Photo: Organizers.
The films share a common theme: family and romantic relationships – a choice considered fitting for audiences during the New Year's reunion season. However, each film seeks to create its own unique mark through different settings and storytelling approaches: from stories of generational gaps and culinary cultural memories to modern glimpses into romantic life.
The presence of familiar names like Tran Thanh, Truong Giang, Le Thanh Son, and Minh Beta continues to attract box office attention. Furthermore, the collaboration between filmmakers and singers, TikTokers, rappers, and young talents demonstrates the expanding human resource ecosystem of Vietnamese cinema in the digital media era.
From an insider's perspective, director and actor Tran Thanh likens the Lunar New Year film season to a "film fair," where audiences have more choices than ever before. He believes that the success of a film cannot be measured solely by revenue. "Everyone hopes for box office success, but for me, if a film doesn't lose money, meaning it's been well-received by the right audience, that's already a success," Tran Thanh shared. This viewpoint partly reflects the new mindset of filmmakers: not just chasing box office numbers, but also focusing on finding the right target audience and the value of the content.
Although not directly participating in the Lunar New Year's first-day release race, the film "Tai," produced by My Tam and written, directed, and starring Mai Tai Phen, has created a noteworthy parallel race in the early 2026 film season. Scheduled for release on the 15th day of the Lunar New Year, "Tai" is a psychological action-thriller set in the Mekong Delta, revolving around the redemption journey of a man burdened by debt and family responsibilities from his past.
My Tam shared that she only decided to participate in the project after considering the script for a long time and feeling "rightly connected" with the work. Meanwhile, Mai Tai Phen said that taking on multiple roles helped him see the story from many angles and considered it an important challenge in his career journey. The appearance of "Tai" shows the trend of expanding the competitive landscape of Vietnamese cinema: not only focusing on the first day of Tet (Lunar New Year), but extending into the period after Tet - a time when audiences still have a high demand for entertainment.
Another notable aspect of this year's Lunar New Year film season is the shift in release strategy. Previously, Lunar New Year films were concentrated in the short period from the 1st to the 10th day of the Lunar New Year. This year, however, the release schedule has been spread out. Some films chose to launch early before the Lunar New Year, while others postponed their release until after the holiday to reduce direct competition. This reflects the increasingly flexible market thinking of producers and distributors.
However, observers believe that the 2026 Lunar New Year film season clearly exhibits a "defensive" mindset. The majority of films prioritize safe, accessible themes with low box office risk. Family and romantic themes are always appealing during Tet, but familiarity, without creative interpretation, will struggle to create differentiation. Most importantly, the quality of the content, the dramatic structure, and the emotional depth of the film remain crucial.
From the Lunar New Year film season to the long-term development challenge.
Looking at the bigger picture, the 2026 Lunar New Year film season is not just a short-term revenue race, but also reflects the development trends of the Vietnamese film market. According to industry estimates, around 70 films could be released in theaters in 2026 – a number that shows the growing confidence of producers in the purchasing power of domestic audiences.
From a box office data perspective, representatives from Box Office Vietnam believe that this year's Lunar New Year film season continues to be dominated by domestic filmmakers, with clear competition among major names. However, they also acknowledge that it's unlikely a new box office record will be set with so many films released in a short period. "There's no such thing as revenue being evenly distributed or everyone winning. When the market is so crowded, there will inevitably be films that don't meet expectations," the Box Office Vietnam representative analyzed.
Audience and fans at the premiere of the film "Tai," produced by My Tam. Photo: Organizing Committee.
From the perspective of online ticketing platforms, several online ticket distributors report an increase in pre-bookings for the 2026 Lunar New Year season compared to the same period last year, especially in major cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Booking data shows that audiences are increasingly choosing screenings several days in advance, rather than buying tickets close to showtime as before. This reflects a shift in viewers' cultural consumption behavior and helps distributors better predict the popularity of each film.
However, ticketing platforms also noted a clear differentiation between films. Some films had high theater occupancy rates from the very first days, while many others had to rely on word-of-mouth to maintain audience numbers. A representative from an online ticketing platform stated that, in the context of many films being released simultaneously, the quality of content and audience feedback on social media will become the decisive factors in the revenue cycle of each film.
The vibrancy of the Lunar New Year film season is also linked to the expansion of film releases throughout the year. While previously Vietnamese cinema relied heavily on a few "golden seasons" like Tet (Lunar New Year) and summer, now other holidays such as April 30th - May 1st, National Day on September 2nd, and the end of the year are gradually becoming new "film seasons." This distribution reduces seasonality and allows filmmakers to experiment with a wider variety of themes and styles.
Besides movie theaters, the participation of online platforms during Tet (Lunar New Year) is also a noteworthy sign. The simultaneous release of films in theaters and on digital platforms shows that audiences' film-watching habits are changing, forcing the film industry to adapt to a more flexible distribution model. This opens up opportunities to reach a wider audience, but also poses challenges regarding competition and content copyright.
In this context, the 2026 Lunar New Year film season can be seen as a crucial test, showing that the Vietnamese film market is moving towards greater professionalism and diversity, but also revealing the limitations of safe thinking. To create real breakthroughs, Vietnamese cinema needs works that dare to step outside the familiar boundaries, explore cultural identity and social life more deeply, and improve the quality of scripts and cinematic language.
From that perspective, this year's Lunar New Year film season is not just about box office success, but also a sign of a turning point: from "holiday-focused" cinema to "four-season" cinema, from a short-term revenue mindset to a long-term development vision. And it is within this shift that the future face of Vietnamese cinema is gradually becoming clear – a dynamic market with many opportunities, but also demanding stronger innovation to truly mature.
According to VNA
Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/phim-tet-2026-cuoc-dua-phong-ve-va-nhung-chuyen-dong-moi-cua-dien-anh-viet-a477203.html
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