Challenges of the imported film market

The recent boom in the Vietnamese cinema market has created favorable conditions for imported films. With a stable audience and good revenue, is the imported film market currently facing any obstacles?

COMPETITION FROM DOMESTIC FILMS

According to data from Box Office Vietnam, in the first 6 months of 2025, domestic box office revenue (of 130 films released in theaters, 19 were Vietnamese films) reached VND3,017 billion, an increase of nearly VND270 billion compared to the same period last year, and is forecast to exceed USD110 million by 2029. Movie importers are also expanding their market share by diversifying film genres and content to meet the tastes of Vietnamese audiences. Films from Korea, Japan, and Thailand currently have a stable audience.

Foreign films have been shown in Vietnamese theaters since July. Of which, Conan Movie 28: Afterimage of the One-Eyed is earning 50 billion VND; Jurassic World : Rebirth 42 billion VND; Superman (2025) 22 billion VND

PHOTO: PROVIDED BY PUBLISHER

Commenting on the film import market, film critic Nguyen Phong Viet said that because the number of Vietnamese films shown is not much, it is obvious that imported films account for a large proportion in Vietnamese theaters. In Vietnam, there are also many theaters that also distribute and import foreign films. Therefore, importing films is inevitable to create a rich "menu" for audiences to experience, as well as to maintain the habit of going to the theater for audiences.

In fact, some film importers believe that one of the biggest challenges today is the strong competition from domestic films. Since the beginning of the year, 8 Vietnamese films have reached the revenue mark of over 100 billion VND, of which the 6 highest-grossing films are: The Four Guardians (332 billion VND) , Detective Kien: Headless Case (249 billion VND) , Ancestral House (242 billion VND), Flip Side 8: Sunbeams (232 billion VND), Billionaire Kiss (211 billion VND) , Tunnel: Sun in the Dark (172 billion VND). These films not only attract audiences but also shape their taste, forcing imported films to "divide" the market share, as commented by director Vu Thanh Vinh of the Khang Media film importer: "Vietnamese films are winning, Vietnamese audiences love Vietnamese films so if we import films without careful calculation, we can easily lose money".

Another obstacle is the ever-increasing cost of copyright. The race to buy copyrights by many units has caused the price of importing films to increase 3-4 times compared to the initial selling price. Not only that, the cost of promotion and communication is not small if the film is to be attractive in theaters. If the revenue is not as expected, the large investment in copyright and communication can cause the distributor to suffer heavy losses.

Another risk is that Vietnamese audiences’ tastes do not always coincide with international audiences’ tastes. Many international blockbusters failed to make money when released in Vietnam, such as Snow White, Mickey 17 , or some recent Asian films such as Love for Money, Crazy for Love; My Dear Bear…

NEED CLEAR STRATEGY

The growth in revenue of the cinema market in Vietnam is an opportunity, at the same time, importers need a clear strategy. The selection of films needs to be based on a specific analysis of the Vietnamese market instead of just relying on international brands. Light films, close to the audience such as family films, romance, light horror... often have a lower risk margin than blockbusters.

"When importing, we must definitely consider the audience's taste and choose the whole segment, which means we choose films that are suitable for Vietnamese audiences, such as recently, films from Thailand and Korea. In the past, American films were popular, but now they are having difficulty in the Vietnamese market because audiences don't seem to like fighting, special effects, etc. anymore. Now they like Thai and Korean films because they are close and attractive...", director Vu Thanh Vinh commented.

Talking more about the solution to expand and "survive" in the film import market, the representative of Khang Media said that when participating in film fairs, it can be seen that films that want to be sold must have attractive content, along with that must have stars to guarantee revenue; or films in series because part 1 is attractive, part 2 will be awaited. "This is a special business field, and in business there are always risks. If I buy 10 films, of which 3-5 are profitable, 1-2 break even and the rest are at a loss, but if I calculate the total revenue of importing 10 films, I still make a profit, it is like accepting to lose a match but winning a war", director Vu Thanh Vinh further analyzed.

Talking about the recent poor revenue of many imported films, director Vu Thanh Vinh said that there are films that are inherently attractive and have a lot of potential to attract audiences, but there are also films that need to do media and find ways to expand their audience. Moreover, audiences now have many ways to access and watch films on different platforms, so film importers must calculate carefully.

"Each film importer has a team that is evaluated in many aspects and has a personal stamp. That means the quality of imported films depends on the assessment of that unit and must accept "luck". However, film importers will get data from distributors about audience parameters, age, market... to help them have a view and decide whether to import films or not", Mr. Nguyen Phong Viet shared.

In the context of Vietnamese films rising strongly, importing foreign films requires careful selection, flexibility according to audience tastes and thorough investment in communication if one does not want to be "knocked out" of theaters.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/thach-thuc-cua-thi-truong-phim-nhap-khau-185250722225719903.htm