After many years of absence, Ly Hung - the actor once considered the "box office king" of Vietnamese cinema in the 1990s returned to the big screen with the desire to regain professional emotions. However, his two most recent film projects with the participation and even his investment- Contributing films, "The Doctor" and "The Ghosts" have not achieved success in terms of revenue, showing that the actor's return journey is not easy.
Released in 2017, "The Dog Thief" is a project that Ly Hung has devoted a lot of effort to. According to Ly Hung, he not only participated in acting, but also contributed capital to production, with a total investment of about 10 billion VND.
The film explores the theme of dog theft - a burning social issue at that time, with the desire to bring a humane message, condemning violence and insensitivity in life. However, according to figures from Box Office, the work only earned more than 3 billion VND after leaving theaters, becoming a heavy commercial failure.
With this 3 billion VND, after dividing sales to the theater system, the remaining figure is very low.
After "The Dog Thief", Li Xu continued to mark his return to cinema with "Ghost currently staying room" - a horror comedy film directed by Wei Mingqing. Although it gathered a cast of familiar actors such as Cat Phuong, Kim Tuyen, Le Thien, Quynh Lam..., the film only earned more than 7 billion VND ( Box Office data) after nearly three weeks of release. This figure is considered modest compared to the level of Vietnamese films in 2025, especially when the work is released in theaters during a period of fierce competition in the market.
In reality, both films have similar problems. With "The Dog Thief", although the social theme is new, the film has a heavy message value, the script is still simple, the storytelling style lacks a cinematic climax, making it difficult to attract the masses. The fact that young director Wei Mingqing at that time had little experience in making films also caused the project to not achieve a balance between artistic and commercial factors.
Meanwhile, "Ghost Boarding House" was criticized for not having a tight script, the stage color was still dark, and the comedy - horror elements were not fully blended. In particular, Ly Hung's role in the film is quite lackluster, with little screen time, and has not yet promoted the appeal of a star who was a box office icon. This has caused his return to not make a clear impression in the hearts of young audiences - the main force of the current theater market.
In addition to the professional factor, the strong change in the context of Vietnamese cinema is also an important reason. Current audiences prioritize works with fast-paced films, solid scripts, and methodical promotional strategies. Meanwhile, projects associated with Ly Hung's name partly carry the spirit of old cinema, more about message than entertainment, making it difficult for films to compete with a series of heavily invested commercial works.
However, Li Xu has repeatedly affirmed that he will not return for economic or reputational reasons. For the actor, taking the role comes from love for the job and the desire to contribute when finding a suitable character.
Ly Hung was born in 1969, from Vinh Long, his father is People's Artist Ly Huynh.
He has played the main actor in more than 60 films, and was once considered the star with the highest salary in Vietnamese cinema in the 1990s.
Notable films include: Pham Cong - Cuc Hoa, Tay Son with a tourist, The Man without a ho, The Wanted Order, The Dog Thief, The Mausoleum...
