Kaity Nguyen, born in 1999, rose to fame in the 2017 film “Em chua 18” directed by Le Thanh Son. The American-inspired comedy helped director Le Thanh Son and Chanh Phuong Film Company (the production unit) make a fortune. According to the announcement, the film cost 12 billion VND to produce and earned 171 billion VND.
“Em chua 18” set a box office record at the time, sweeping the theaters, making 18-year-old Kaity Nguyen a shining beauty of Vietnamese cinema. The film held the box office record until it was dethroned by Ngo Thanh Van’s “Hai Phuong”. But for a long time, “Em chua 18” was always in the top Vietnamese films with the highest revenue.
After the fever of “Em chua 18”, Kaity Nguyen has always been the first choice of directors. The actress became the female lead in a series of hit projects such as Hon papa da con gai, Tiec trang mau, Gai gia lam chieu...
In "Blood Moon Party", the film brings together veteran actors such as Thai Hoa, Hong Anh, Thu Trang, Kieu Minh Tuan... but Kaity Nguyen still shines with her natural, mature acting.
Kaity Nguyen with bright eyes, cinematic face, natural acting style, and technique, has brought a different color among stars like Thai Hoa and Thu Trang.
“Blood Moon Party” achieved a revenue of 175 billion VND, a miracle in the midst of the complicated COVID-19 pandemic, with cinemas constantly opening and closing, and audiences afraid to go to crowded places. Kaity Nguyen is considered the “million dollar beauty” of Vietnamese cinema.
Kaity Nguyen is highly regarded for her professionalism, focusing all her energy on cinema, not participating in entertainment game shows and expanding into other fields like most artists. Every year, Kaity appears in theaters with a film project.
However, limitations in the quantity and quality of film scripts are also putting Kaity Nguyen in a difficult position.
In 2023, the film “The Last Wife” directed by Victor Vu with the participation of Kaity Nguyen caused controversy over the script. The film was criticized for being disjointed, old-fashioned, and lacking logic. However, thanks to the attraction of a strong film crew, “The Last Wife” still achieved positive revenue, nearly 100 billion VND.
Kaity Nguyen's most shocking "box office fall" is probably from "Cong Tu Bac Lieu" released at the end of 2024. "Cong Tu Bac Lieu" by director Ly Minh Thang was expected to be of high quality when choosing an attractive topic, however, when released in theaters, the film revealed a shallow, superficial script, almost simply simulating the anecdotes about the Bac Lieu prince.
The film left theaters with only 36 billion VND in revenue. According to statistics from Box Office Vietnam, the work is among the group of Vietnamese films that will lose money in 2024.
In “Cong Tu Bac Lieu”, Kaity Nguyen plays the role of Miss Sau, daughter of Mr. Hoi Dong Linh (Thanh Loc), younger sister of Mr. Ba Hon (Song Luan). Despite her best efforts in portraying the role, Kaity Nguyen could not save the script of “Cong Tu Bac Lieu”.
In early 2025, Kaity Nguyen was the female lead and also contributed capital to produce “Love by mistake for a best friend” in the Tet film race. The film was a surprising fall from grace for “million dollar director” Nguyen Quang Dung and “million dollar actress” Kaity Nguyen. With only 20 billion VND in revenue, the film was far behind its two competitors and faced the risk of loss.
Two consecutive projects with low revenue have put Kaity Nguyen's title as "million dollar beauty" under threat. In the context of Vietnamese films lacking good scripts, Kaity Nguyen will have to carefully consider her next film project.
Talking to Lao Dong reporters about failed projects, Kaity Nguyen said she appreciates all the works she has participated in. The most important thing is that Kaity will stand firm, continue her passion for cinema, and continue on the path she has chosen.
