Good movies can be counted on the fingers
Action movies were once considered a “delicious cake” for Vietnamese filmmakers to exploit. Especially after the success of the movie “Hai Phuong” which helped Ngo Thanh Van earn 200 billion VND in theaters, filmmakers have focused more on exploiting this topic.
Next are films such as: 578: Madman's Bullet, Thanh Soi... In 2024, there will be at least 2 action films released in theaters. The films Domino: The Last Exit (directed by Nguyen Phuc Huy Cuong) and Hotgirl Squad (directed by Vinh Khuong) will be shown in theaters at the end of October 2024. However, both of these projects lost money and were not of interest to the audience.
Domino: The Last Exit left theaters on October 25, bringing in about 600 million VND in ticket sales. This is a new project by actor Thuan Nguyen. The film has a large investment budget as it was filmed entirely in the US. In particular, the theme of the underworld of Vietnamese people in the US has not been mentioned in any previous Vietnamese film. The action scenes in the film are beautifully staged and thrilling. However, when shown in Vietnam, the film did not attract much attention from the audience, and the screenings were always empty.
Sharing the same fate, Hotgirl Squad (directed by Vinh Khuong) is having trouble at the box office. Released on October 25, the film's current revenue, according to Box Office Vietnam, is about 50 million VND.
The loss of the two films Domino: The Last Exit and Hotgirl Squad was predicted because before these film projects were released, the media and audience were mostly not interested. In addition, the content and acting of the stars in the films were not highly appreciated.
Vietnamese action films have always been a difficult problem for filmmakers for many years. Usually, directors only dare to make family dramas and comedies to attract audiences and reduce the pressure of production costs. Meanwhile, an action film project can cost up to 50 - 60 billion VND, instead of 10 - 20 billion VND like family films, comedies...
Looking back, there are only a few Vietnamese action movies that are popular, such as: Hai Phuong, Lat mat 5: 48 hours, Chi Muoi Ba: 3 ngay sinh tu... However, there are countless action movies that have lost money. In addition to the two Vietnamese movies that have just been released in theaters, since 2020, the movies that have lost money include 578: The Madman's Bullet, which invested 50 - 60 billion VND but was withdrawn from theaters with only a few billion VND in revenue. Thanh Soi by Ngo Thanh Van also received a large investment but in the end still suffered a loss because the revenue was only 22 billion VND.
The "tough" game
It must be admitted that domestic action films are increasingly being invested in with large budgets and this is a "tough" playground for Vietnamese filmmakers.
As for the reason, it is clear that Vietnamese action movies cannot compete with blockbusters from countries with developed cinema industries such as the US, Korea...
Another factor that makes Vietnamese action movies not successful in terms of revenue is that they have not yet created a habit of going to the cinema for the audience. Many audiences when choosing to buy tickets often avoid Vietnamese action movies because they think that the investment and quality of the movies are not good. This also poses a problem for producers in promoting and reaching the audience is not really effective.
With Vietnamese action films, audiences easily compare them with foreign projects when the color and execution are considered to be “imitating” foreign blockbusters. Audiences need action film projects that have their own unique features, not mixed, different from the action stories that have been exploited by many world filmmakers.
Other Vietnamese film genres are doing quite well in exploiting local characteristics. Therefore, the box office revenue of these projects has many positive trends. Perhaps, it is time for Vietnamese filmmakers, instead of following, contributing/copied international filmmaking methods and then reproducing them for their own works, to be more bold in choosing themes and stories that are closer to and more approachable to domestic audiences...
