Vietnam's film market: Many opportunities, many challenges...

The Vietnamese film market is in a period of explosion in both the number of films and box office revenue, marking an impressive transformation. However, behind the record numbers and the vibrant atmosphere is still the harsh reality - investing in cinema has never been an easy game. Opportunities are opening up, but along with them come even greater challenges.

Many opportunities

By the end of the third quarter of 2025, the box office revenue of Vietnamese films had passed the 3,100 billion VND mark, surpassing the record of 1,900 billion VND for the whole year of 2024. Of which, there were 12 Vietnamese films with revenue of over 100 billion VND - a number that was just a "distant dream" a few years ago.

On average, 5-7 Vietnamese films are released each month, creating an unprecedentedly exciting “box office race”. The increase in the number of films released also demonstrates the active participation of many producers and investors in the film industry.

In addition to the already familiar names, the market also welcomes many new investors and producers, contributing to the diversity of Vietnamese cinema. Ms. Vu Thi Bich Lien, CEO of Mega GS Entertainment and Media Group, producer of many recent film projects, such as Vong Nhi, Nha Khong Ban, Am Duong Lo (director Hoang Tuan Cuong), Nha Ma Xo (director Truong Dung), said that the biggest advantage of the Vietnamese film market today is the support of Vietnamese audiences.

“The market always has movies that audiences like or dislike, but the important thing is that audiences are willing to go to the cinema and therefore, producers must focus on doing the best they can,” Ms. Vu Thi Bich Lien shared.

Currently, investment capital for Vietnamese cinema comes from many sources such as: the State, private investors, foreign investors, or from international cinema support funds... In which, the private sector accounts for the majority. Recently, the public-private partnership model has also had positive shifts, thanks to the success of many works such as: Red Rain (directed by Meritorious Artist Dang Thai Huyen, People's Army Cinema in cooperation with HKFilm and Galaxy Studio), Death Battle in the Sky (directed by Ham Tran, People's Police Cinema in cooperation with Galaxy Studio)... However, Vietnam currently does not have venture capital funds for cinema, because film production is still considered a high-risk field.

The crew of "Red Rain" interacted with the audience. This is one of the films with a large investment. Photo: Producer

A veteran producer in the industry revealed that if there is a good project, calling for investment is not too difficult, many people even want to invest. That is the reason why films by directors like Ly Hai, Tran Thanh, Victor Vu... always attract a large number of investors, partners, brands, and sponsors.

In some other cases, like Mega GS, they choose to invest their own capital to be completely proactive in terms of content and production and business strategy. However, for independent filmmakers or newcomers, the journey to find capital is still a difficult challenge. They are forced to go to film project markets, or call for support from film funds, foreign organizations... but the results are not high.

"Gamble" win - lose

“In reality, making a movie can be a win, but it is also easy to lose everything. It is a risky gamble, and what is risky can be profitable,” affirmed Ms. Vu Thi Bich Lien. That is why, even when receiving investment cooperation offers from foreign partners, Ms. Bich Lien is still not ready. “When I am confident about everything, maybe I will do it, but not now,” Ms. Vu Thi Bich Lien shared.

Regarding the story of foreign investment and cooperation, many experts in the film industry affirm that although the door has opened, challenges have also appeared.

According to Mr. Nguyen Hoang Hai, CEO of V Pictures (a subsidiary of CJ CGV Vietnam, specializing in investing, producing and distributing Vietnamese films), foreign capital invested in domestic cinema is currently entangled in a number of regulations and procedures related to BCC contracts (business cooperation contracts), so it is somewhat limited. Issues regarding mechanisms, procedures for capital repayment, contract closure, etc. are also obstacles that cause investment capital for Vietnamese cinema to currently rely mainly on domestic capital.

Another challenge is that Vietnamese cinema has not yet been able to attract the participation of investors from outside the industry. Because it has always been considered a risky investment field, calling for investment still mainly depends on people who have known each other. The number of films increases, while the number of investors remains the same, the Vietnamese cinema market quickly falls into a serious lack of capital.

The process of making the movie Detective Kien - The Headless Case. Photo: Producer

In terms of the market, although the total revenue of Vietnamese films is now almost double that of 2024, the reality is that any film that wins will win big, while a bad film will collapse right from the start. The difference between the revenue of 714 billion VND of Red Rain and just over 153 million VND of Pawn Shop: Play and Take (directed by Hoang Anh Duy) reflects that very high polarization.

As a unit that is participating in investing in many film projects, according to Mr. Nguyen Hoang Hai, the first criterion that V Pictures considers is the potential - that is, the ability to recover capital of the project. Accordingly, the script is always the most important factor to consider before deciding to invest, followed by the director, production crew and actors.

Agreeing with this view, Ms. Vu Thi Bich Lien said that a good film must first have a good story. “That is why, for me, the script is very important. If the script is not good, I will immediately shake my head,” Ms. Vu Thi Bich Lien emphasized.

Another positive sign is that the Vietnamese film market is being watched by foreign investors. Director - Meritorious Artist Vu Thanh Vinh said that Korean, Thai, Singaporean partners highly appreciate the potential of the Vietnamese film market and many investors have invested in the domestic market. Ms. Vu Thi Bich Lien revealed that some French investors have expressed their interest in cooperation, both in terms of investment in production and bringing Vietnamese films to be shown in foreign markets.

VAN TUAN

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/thi-truong-dien-anh-viet-nam-nhieu-co-hoi-lam-thach-thuc-post821272.html