Are Vietnamese films being stifled by American and Korean blockbusters?

Exhuma broke the record for the highest-grossing Korean film in the Vietnamese market, previously held by Suddenly Winning the Lottery (150 billion VND) - Photo: CGV

With no Vietnamese films in sight, the box office this past week was dominated by three blockbusters from the "cinematic powerhouses" of the US and South Korea: Dune 2, Kung Fu Panda 4, and Exhuma: Resurrected.

Foreign films dominate the Vietnamese box office.

Exhuma: The Exorcist continues to hold the top spot since its release, with current box office revenue reaching 165.7 billion VND as of the morning of March 25th, averaging nearly 10,000 screenings per weekend.

Kung Fu Panda 4 lost its momentum from the beginning of last week and settled for second place, with the DreamWorks animated film now grossing 116.3 billion VND after exactly two weeks of release.

Despite having significantly lower box office revenue than its two predecessors, Dune 2 was still given special screenings of the first and second parts of the film for five consecutive hours in IMAX format. Currently, the film has grossed 38.1 billion VND after three weeks of release.

Also released during this period was a Vietnamese film that seems to have been "forgotten," namely The Heiress 2.

The film was released on March 8th, but its revenue was a mere 6.4 billion VND.

It seems Vietnamese audiences are also tired of Vietnamese films with themes of infidelity or drama revolving around the romantic relationships of the wealthy; they want a film with a more relatable and relatable setting.

Four new films were released between the end of March and April.

After nearly a week of early screenings and three days of its official release, the cải lương (Vietnamese traditional opera) film "Sáng đèn" (Lights Up) unexpectedly outperformed the culinary film that earned Trần Anh Hùng the Cannes Best Director award, both in terms of box office revenue and screenings.

The box office in late March saw competition between two films exploring the relationship between human emotions and the art they pursue - Photo: IMDb/ĐPCC

Specifically, "Sang Den" grossed a total of 1 billion VND last weekend, bringing its total revenue to 2.1 billion VND, while "Muon Vi Nhan Gian" only earned a meager 1 billion VND and had fewer than 1,000 screenings per day.

The Many Flavors of the World tells the love story of the brilliant chef Dodin Bouffant (played by Benoît Magine) and his lover, the chef Eugenie (played by Juliette Binoche).

THE WORLD OF FLAVORS - Main Trailer | Release Date: March 22, 2024

They lived together for over 20 years, cooking and developing new dishes together every day. Their love for each other was undeniable, but they never married because many aspects of their souls weren't yet in sync, and they were still searching for the right moment.

The film "Lights Up" is set in the 1990s, when traditional Vietnamese opera troupes had begun to lose their appeal to people in Southern Vietnam. The Vien Phuong troupe, led by impresario (played by Meritorious Artist Huu Chau), suffered from a prolonged lack of customers despite employing all possible measures.

The entire cast must find a way to overcome the difficulties during this transitional period in order to continue pursuing their intense passion for the stage, which is also the message and spirit of the film.

Ranked second and third on the box office charts are Kung Fu Panda 4 and Dune 2, respectively. - Photo: DreamWorks/Legendary

Blockbusters sandwiched between

The film industry at the end of March is also becoming increasingly diverse, with four films simultaneously released to audiences last week, including a Vietnamese film, "Sang Den" (Lights Shining), a Thai supernatural horror film, a Korean psychological drama, and "Muon Vi Nhan Gian" (Many Flavors of the World), a French film directed by Tran Anh Hung.

It seems that mainstream audiences will still prefer a Vietnamese film with relatable, easy-to-understand content and a touch of humor, rather than art films with a slower pace and more difficult-to-appreciate plot.

Compared to "Many Flavors of the World," "Lighting Up" is more accessible to the majority of Vietnamese audiences - Photo: DPCC

This is also good news for the film about Southern Vietnamese traditional opera, since it had to withdraw from the Lunar New Year film race because it couldn't compete with Mai and Gap Lai Chi Bau, and it also faced difficulties when it was released amidst the current wave of Hollywood and Korean blockbusters.

Speaking to Tuổi Trẻ newspaper at the premiere, director Hoàng Tuấn Cường of the film "Sáng đèn" (Lights Shining) also expressed his joy that the film had returned to theaters after a month of withdrawal from the fiercely competitive Lunar New Year film race.

At the same time, he also expressed concern that "Sang Den" (Lights Shining) was released while being "sandwiched" between blockbuster hits.

With Exhuma, Kung Fu Panda 4, and Dune 2 still showing, the monster blockbuster Godzilla x Kong is fast approaching.

The film is also trying to "take advantage" of the "buffer" week from March 22nd to 29th, when Dune 2 and Kung Fu Panda 4 have shown signs of cooling down and Godzilla x Kong or Ghost Buster have yet to arrive in the Vietnamese market.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/phim-viet-co-bi-bop-nghet-boi-bom-tan-my-han-20240326094516072.htm