Not a sudden "miracle" appearance, but because what has happened over the past 12 months shows that the domestic film industry has truly entered a new state, developing with market scale, audience trust, and the ability to create mass phenomena.
2025 recorded the outstanding development of Vietnamese films. According to statistics from Box Office Vietnam (an independent box office statistics unit), as of December 26, 2025, the total revenue of Vietnamese films in the domestic market reached about 3,650 billion VND, nearly double compared to 2024 (about 1,900 billion VND).
Another important achievement of 2025 is a clear reversal in market share. For the first time in many years, Vietnamese films are no longer inferior at home to foreign films, but play a central role in the box office picture. At many times in 2025, domestic films accounted for over 60% of total revenue, far exceeding foreign films, something that rarely happens in the history of the Vietnamese market. The fact that audiences actively choose domestic films, even in the time frames considered the "territory" of international blockbusters, shows that the level of trust for Vietnamese films has improved significantly.
2025 also marked the appearance of domestic box office "leaders" with revenue far exceeding the general level of many previous years. "Red Rain" achieved revenue of about 714 billion VND, becoming the highest-grossing Vietnamese film in box office history to date. Not just one, but many films simultaneously achieved very high revenue levels, contributing to pulling the whole market up.
However, the success of 2025 is not evenly distributed. Besides the peaks, there is a very clear level of differentiation. Many films leave theaters early, low revenue, even heavy losses. The gap between big-winning films and the rest of the market is increasingly widening. This reflects a new reality: Vietnamese cinema has entered a period of real competition, where audiences no longer "hold their hands" just because of domestic films. They are willing to support, but also willing to turn their backs.
From an industrial perspective, 2025 also shows that domestic production capacity has been upgraded. The scale of the context, the level of technical investment, special effects and the ability to organize production and communication campaigns are closer to regional standards. Vietnamese cinema is no longer a "manual game" for a few individuals, but is operating as a true cultural industry, although there are still some incomplete links, especially the stage of script development and long-term training.
From those achievements, entering 2026, Vietnam's film industry is facing an important turning point.
Regarding revenue, the general trend shows that the market is unlikely to decline sharply, but it is also not easy to repeat the hot growth rate of 2025. When the revenue ceiling has been pushed high, each new project faces greater pressure: production costs increase, advertising costs increase, while audience expectations also increase accordingly. 2026 is likely to be a year when the market growth slows down, more consolidating than explosive.
The biggest challenge of 2026 lies in sustainability. After a year of great success, the risk of successfully copying formulas is obvious. If manufacturers choose the safe path, repeating old motifs on a larger scale but without innovation in storytelling, the market may quickly fall into a state of saturation. At that time, audiences who are already familiar with higher quality in 2025 will react much more harshly.
Another challenge is narrowing the gap between winning and losing films. If 2026 continues to witness too much gap between big wins and the rest, the film ecosystem will be imbalanced. A healthy film industry needs not only "super products", but also works that reach a fairly average level, enough to survive, enough to nurture the creative team and create diversity.
In addition, 2026 raises questions about the long-term strategy: How much will Vietnamese cinema prioritize expanding the domestic market, and what will it do to gradually reach international audiences sustainably, instead of just appearing in events or niche markets. This requires thinking beyond the immediate revenue problem, towards building a national brand for cinema.
In summary, 2025 is a year when Vietnamese cinema has been given opportunities and has taken advantage of those opportunities quite well. Revenue records, strong support from audiences, and improved production capacity are undeniable achievements. But therefore, 2026 will be a real challenging year. Challenge the ability to maintain the growth momentum, challenge creativity in the face of trade pressure, and challenge the long-term vision of the entire industry.
If 2025 is the year of milestones, then 2026 will be the decisive year whether Vietnamese cinema can turn those milestones into a sustainable development path or not.
