According to Box Office Vietnam data recorded on August 27, "Harry Potter and the Magic Stone" at one point led the Vietnamese box office with more than 1.43 billion VND, selling 12,491 tickets through 686 screenings.
Behind the work is Huynh Lap's "Summer Break, Afraid of Retirement", which reached more than 1.03 billion VND with 13,488 tickets through 2,779 screenings. "Guardians: The Mysterious Tomb of King Dinh" ranked next with more than 438 million VND, selling 4,858 tickets through 958 screenings. However, the film by director Nguyen Phan Quang Binh was only in the early screening stage, before officially premiering on August 28.
The ranking may continue to change over time, but the above results are still surprising. "Harry Potter and the Witch's Stone" only has about a quarter of the number of screenings as "Summer Break, Afraid of Retirement" but still has times when revenue is higher than Vietnamese films.
The work premiered in 2001, opening the film journey of Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger at Hogwarts. The version returning to Vietnamese cinemas to celebrate its 25th anniversary is supplemented with 12 minutes of unannounced special content.
This new factor creates more attraction for the fan community. However, the biggest motivation still comes from the value of nostalgia. A part of the audience who once watched Harry Potter on a small screen now wants to experience the witch world on the big screen. Meanwhile, young people have the opportunity to access the first film in a form close to the time the work is released.
After eight films, the Harry Potter franchise achieved a total global revenue of over 7.7 billion USD. "Harry Potter and the Witch's Stone" alone grossed over one billion USD after releases and reshoots. The series also received a total of 12 Oscar nominations, while making Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint international stars.
The return of Harry Potter makes the box office race on National Day even more unpredictable. "Summer Breaks Afraid of Retirement" still has an advantage when total revenue has exceeded 100 billion VND and owns a large number of screenings. Meanwhile, "Ho Linh Trang Si" enters the official premiere phase and is likely to be expanded.
The fact that a 25-year-old work is still competing with new Vietnamese films shows that a strong brand can bring audiences back to theaters without a completely new story. This is also a significant pressure for domestic films in the race to win screening slots and audience attention during the September 2nd holiday.
