Exciting competition in Vietnamese films

That partly shows that the time when successful films relied heavily on "luck" is over, audiences are becoming more and more selective, and above all, have gradually created a truly competitive film market.

In domestic cinema, recent blockbusters are always associated with the names of two filmmakers - directors Ly Hai and Tran Thanh. For many years, these two names have almost monopolized the box office and are the first directors to reach the thousand billion VND mark (counting all films). The revenue of 332 billion VND of The Four Guardians or more than 220 billion VND of Lat mat 8: Vong tay nang are still dream numbers for any filmmaker. But for filmmakers - directors Tran Thanh and Ly Hai, it can be seen as a step back not only in terms of revenue, but also in personal reputation when both of the two directors' new films have received many unsatisfactory reviews about their quality! Meanwhile, the film market is seeing films that touch the audience's emotions and are being received quite positively.

In the context of the Vietnamese film market recovering strongly after the Covid-19 pandemic and on the rise, internal competition between Vietnamese films is a positive sign. After the balance of domestic and foreign films gradually became balanced, even Vietnamese films were somewhat dominant, the competition between domestic works at the box office was a necessary "test". It not only gives the audience more choices, creating conditions for them to compare and consider carefully before deciding to buy tickets, but more importantly, this competition encourages filmmakers to constantly improve quality. Because the prerequisite is still quality and the level of suitability to taste. Spectacular comebacks such as Nu hon bac billion or Detective Kien: Ky an khong dau have affirmed a fact, the more touching the audience's emotions, the higher the chance of success. However, knowing that, the solution to that problem has never been easy.

When the concept of “box office star” is no longer enough to guarantee success in revenue, building a filmmaker’s personal brand becomes a more challenging problem than ever. No one wants to be confined in a “safe zone”, labeled as stagnant or lacking creativity. And the audience - who are increasingly intelligent and perceptive - has the right to expect each new film to bring something different and newer than the previous one. That pressure puts filmmakers in front of a difficult choice: continue to chase instant success, extend box office records or accept slowing down to listen and renew themselves more deeply!

In the second half of 2025, the competition between Vietnamese films is expected to become even hotter. The summer movie season witnessed the first time two domestic animated films were released at the same time: Trang Quynh nhi: Truyen thuy Kim Nguu and De Men: Cuoc thuy duoc to xom Lay Loi. The horror genre continues to make inroads with Duoi day ho, Nam muoi, Ut Lan: Oan linh ve cua, Nha ma xo along with major revolutionary film projects such as Mua do, Tu chien tren khong. As audience tastes fluctuate every day, the direct confrontation between Vietnamese films is creating a necessary purification. To survive and succeed, a film not only needs increasing quality, but also professionalism in promotion, communication and most importantly, how to touch the emotions of the audience.

VAN TUAN

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/soi-dong-canh-tranh-phim-viet-post796679.html