Vietnamese films continuously lose tens of billions of dong

"The Heiress 2" - a work produced by Trang Nhung and her husband - lost tens of billions of dong, following the failure of 18+ films "Tea" and "Lights".

In the first three months of the year, domestic cinema was bustling with Mai (directed by Tran Thanh, grossing over 520 billion VND), or Meet again Ms. Bau (directed by Nhat Trung, 92 billion VND). Besides the two big hits, many domestic films were withdrawn from theaters due to losses, creating a polarized picture at the box office.

On March 29, The Heiress 2 - directed by actress Trang Nhung and director Hoang Duy - ended its 20-day run in theaters, earning more than six billion VND. Previously, the producer said it had to earn 40 billion VND to break even.

Released after The Heiress 2 , Bright Lights - a film about old-fashioned reformed opera directed by Hoang Tuan Cuong - is also experiencing a lack of tickets. According to Box Office Vietnam, an independent observer, the film only has about 100 screenings nationwide each day. The producer's representative assessed that this number is not optimistic, because the film is set in the 1990s, with a budget twice that of the films Hoang Tuan Cuong has made.

Similarly, Tra - an 18+ film by Le Hoang - shown on the occasion of the Lunar New Year, only earned 1.6 billion VND, left theaters after a few days of release, with no plans for further release.

Trailer 'The Heiress 2' — Trailer "The Heiress 2". Video : *Galaxy*

The producers admitted failure due to the unattractive content of the film as well as mistakes in the distribution process . The Heiress 2 had low word-of-mouth effect, continuing to follow the same path - weak script - as the first part (also produced by Hoang Duy in 2018, revenue of 1.6 billion VND). The story of the second part still has an old color, embracing messages, abusing many sensational details. Some viewers pointed out the similarities with many previous films, for example, Kim's coming-of-age story is similar to the character Nhi in the film Mrs. Nu's House (2023).

Also exploring the theme of a third person, Tra by director Le Hoang has a less creative story. Chich (Doan Trinh) - a girl with a dark past - is saved from a beer bar by Hai (Quoc Thai), a businessman, from which a relationship arises, but is followed by Hai's wife (Viet Huong). In addition to the illogical content and theatrical dialogue, the film's image quality is only at the level of a web-drama. Audiences commented that veteran actors such as Viet Huong and Quoc Thai have exaggerated acting in comedic scenes.

Quoc Thai (right) and Doan Trinh in Tea - Le Hoang's disastrous work. Photo: Beta — Quoc Thai (right) and Doan Trinh in "Tea" - Le Hoang's work that was considered a "disaster". Photo: *Beta*

With Bright Lights , Hoang Tuan Cuong believes that the film failed in terms of communication and reaching the audience. In recent days, he often asked the units and was told that the film was not popular because the theme was not popular with the majority. According to the director, the fact that viewers thought the work only revolved around the theme of reformed opera, and therefore were not interested in buying tickets, caused the revenue to go down. In fact, the script revolved around the theme of friendship and family.

Trailer for the movie "Lights Up". Video: *MegaGS*

Director Hoang Duy said he was sad but accepted the result because he understood the market's rule of eliminating unattractive works. He planned to release the film online on several platforms to recoup the film's production costs.

According to Mr. Chau Quang Phuoc, former media manager of a cinema complex in Ho Chi Minh City, the fact that Vietnamese box office revenue is divided shows that domestic cinema in the post-pandemic period has not yet fully recovered. "Many projects only receive small investments, leading to consecutive failures when released in theaters. Currently, only a few producers like Tran Thanh and Ly Hai have won big because they can continue making films without having to rely on raising capital," he commented.

In the near future, Vietnamese cinema will enter a bustling period with the April 30 - May 1 holiday. Ly Hai's Lat Mat 7: Mot Giau Uoc is predicted to continue to be a big competitor to many other Vietnamese films such as Doa Hoa Mong Manh , B4S - Truoc Gio Yeu . The Price of Happiness - a film Thai Hoa co-starred with Xuan Lan - was scheduled to be released on the same day as Lat Mat 7 , but had to be postponed a week earlier for fear of affecting revenue.