The Vietnamese film market in the first months of 2025 is vibrant and bustling. A series of projects released in theaters with many different genres and topics have all reached the hundred billion revenue mark.
Just a year ago, the number of hundred billion films could be counted on the fingers, the dream of many directors. In 2023, nearly 30 Vietnamese films released in theaters were in a sluggish situation, filmmakers cried because of the losses.
Therefore, a series of hundred-billion-dong Vietnamese films that are released in theaters and then leave theaters in the first 4 months of 2025 can be likened to a breakthrough beyond imagination.
It is worth mentioning that most of these films are made by hand-carried directors. They make the 2025 film market a game of hand-carried directors.
Tran Thanh started out as an actor and MC, when he switched to directing, he had a series of projects with record revenue such as Bo Gia, Nha Ba Nu, Mai... This year's Tet film season, Tran Thanh had the film "The Four Guardians" reaching over 300 billion VND in revenue. However, this is his lowest-grossing film ever.
Thu Trang - a comedian actress, who was Tran Thanh's co-star in many skits, first took the position of director of a movie, "The billion-dollar kiss". The 2025 Tet film season witnessed the actor duo Tran Thanh and Thu Trang "making waves" in theaters when they moved into the directing role.
"The Billion Dollar Kiss" left theaters with a revenue of more than 200 billion VND.
Huynh Lap is also an astonishing name at the box office in early 2025. Like Tran Thanh and Thu Trang, Huynh Lap comes from a comedian. This is the first time Huynh Lap has sat in the director's chair of a movie but helped "House of Ancestors" earn 242 billion VND.
Many other names also sat in the chair of film directors for the first time such as Hoang Nam (the movie Lam Tuyen Tu), Pom Nguyen (the movie Quy Nhap Trang)... all quickly reached the revenue mark of more than 100 billion VND despite the movie being criticized.
When the film market became a game of average directors, the box office fall of director Nguyen Quang Dung with "Love by mistake for a best friend" became a paradox.
Director Nguyen Quang Dung majored in Directing at Ho Chi Minh City University of Theatre and Cinema. He has "satisfied" with many projects, but in 2025, before the box office race with Thu Trang and Tran Thanh, he appeared exhausted.
Up to now, the race between Ly Hai and Victor Vu is also taking place fiercely. With "Detective Kien", Victor Vu is praised for being more proficient in handling scripts and directing, but still "Flip Side 8: Sun Hands" by Ly Hai exceeded the screening and revenue in the first days of release.
Ly Hai was born in 1968, studied acting, then became a singer and switched to acting. Meanwhile, Victor Vu's real name is Vu Quoc Viet, born in 1975, he graduated with honors with a bachelor's degree in film production from Loyola Marymount University, USA.
Talking to Lao Dong reporter about "the game of hand-carried directors", director Dinh Tuan Vu - who studied directing at Hanoi University of Theatre and Cinema - said: "Everyone has their own strengths. No one knows how Tran Thanh studied directing, but Mai has been treated very cinematically. When Tran Thanh and Ly Hai's films are released in theaters, I always go to see them. I appreciate how they approach the market, they are very sensitive.
Art comes from talent, ability to feel, storytelling... Street directors are showing that they have their own strengths.
From the acting job, Tran Thanh, Thu Trang, Huynh Lap can also learn new and interesting lessons and approaches when participating in directing. The more new names are available, the more vibrant and competitive the film market will become, and that is necessary for development.
