By the end of September 2025, the total revenue of the Vietnamese film market had reached more than 3,000 billion VND and was expected to exceed 4,000 billion VND by the end of the year, double that of 2024.
Great potential, great pressure
Up to this point, there have been at least 10 Vietnamese films that have surpassed the 100 billion VND mark in 2025. Of which, Sky Deathmatch is currently showing in theaters and is about to reach the 200 billion VND mark after a week . Red Rain left theaters with a revenue of 714 billion VND and became a box office phenomenon in history for the highest-grossing Vietnamese film. According to information from the producer, from now until the end of 2025, there will continue to be about 20 Vietnamese films expected to be released in theaters with a variety of genres.
The explosion in the number of films offers many choices for audiences, as well as the remarkable growth in revenue, affirming the vitality and potential of the Vietnamese film market. However, any film that is not competitive enough in terms of quality, not properly invested in, or has weak media will easily "evaporate" from theaters after just one or two weeks. In reality, while some films have reached the level of "blockbusters", there are also works that do not achieve the expected revenue, or only earn a few hundred million or a few billion VND, such as Pawnshop: Play and Take; Ghost Bride (a Vietnamese-Thai cooperation) ; Bride Sale Contract... The common point of these films is that the content is not attractive enough, lack of investment in script and technique, leading to quality below the threshold of audience acceptance.
Scene from the movie Red Rain
PHOTO: NSXCC
T ATTRACTING COOPERATION IN MAKING HISTORICAL FILM
Commenting on the current market, director Nguyen Phan Quang Binh said that Vietnamese films are in a period of strong growth in revenue, but there is also a clear differentiation in quality. Current audiences are very supportive of works that are seriously invested in and have stories that touch emotions.
"In recent years, private units have been the main units generating revenue for the film industry, demonstrating market sensitivity. And now these units also cooperate with the state, helping the market have depth and balance in content, especially with historical and political topics. The case of Red Rain or Tunnels: Sun in the Dark shows that a work with serious investment, with a storytelling style that touches the audience, regardless of whether it is private or state-owned, can break all records," said the director of Endless Fields .
It can be seen that the films with impressive revenue in recent times all have "difficult" topics such as war, history, hijacking or folk culture. This is an important step forward, proving that producers from private to state such as Military Cinema, People's Police Cinema, and television stations have been participating very well, expanding their creative range to conquer audiences with stories that are eventful, profound and different. Red Rain, Death Battle in the Sky, Tunnel: The Sun in the Dark have a huge investment in funding, human resources, and material resources with the participation of thousands of extras, real weapons and equipment, and large scenes with great support from the military and police forces.
Scene from the movie Deathmatch in the Sky
PHOTO: NSXCC
Regarding the investment budget for a quality theatrical film, director and producer Luong Dinh Dung said it should be at least 50 billion VND. Some other filmmakers said that after the revenue explosion of Tunnels and Red Rain, private investors will also feel more secure to invest in films with war and history themes. "The consensus and determination of many relevant agencies will create a new sustainable development trend for Vietnamese films. And to stimulate investors, there needs to be a reasonable distribution and investment mechanism as well as tax incentives," said director Luong Dinh Dung.
"I affirm that proper investment is one of the most important factors to create a quality film and win over the audience. The level of investment here does not stop at finance to ensure modern special effects, magnificent settings and meticulous costumes - the prerequisites for the audience to see professionalism, but also invests in deep scripts, humanistic perspectives, and new, modern storytelling. Vietnamese audiences are always full of patriotism, but they need works that tell about history with respect, freshness and high cinematic quality," said Nguyen Phan Quang Binh. He also believes that in order to attract private investors to participate in state film projects, especially historical films, the state needs to remove obstacles in financial mechanisms, moving towards a transparent public-private partnership model, clear about capital contribution ratios, authority and especially the capital recovery and profit sharing mechanism.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/thi-truong-dien-anh-tram-hoa-dua-no-185251001225904729.htm
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