From record to harsh revenue gap
In just the first 9 months of 2025, Vietnamese cinema has set new records in revenue.
According to Box Office Vietnam, as of the end of September, the total revenue of Vietnamese films reached more than VND3,100 billion, far exceeding the same period last year and signaling a "rich" year for the box office.
Since the beginning of the year, more than 40 domestic films have been released in theaters, spread across many genres, in which some works have created a real fever.
Most notably is the film "Red Rain" - this is considered a rare box office phenomenon, reaching over 705 billion VND, attracting millions of audiences to the cinema.
In addition, other films that have reached hundreds of billions such as The Four Guardians (332 billion VND), The paternal couple (242 billion VND), Investigator Kien (248 billion VND), Lat mat 8 (231 billion VND) have contributed to making Vietnamese films dominate many foreign blockbusters for many consecutive months.
However, that bright picture also comes with dark patches. Many domestic films leave theaters quietly with a revenue of only a few tens of millions to a few hundred million VND - considered a " box office disaster". Some films that need to be mentioned include: What to dream, How to play, can I bear to... leave the theater with just over a hundred million VND in revenue.
Many projects have been criticized for their low quality but are noisy, tricky, and dramatic.
In particular, the project "Am Duong Lo" was criticized for using ambulances to promote the film, the crew of the film "Co Duong Co Duoc" argued and criticized each other...
The huge differentiation between popular works and failed films makes the market more severe, especially for small, low-cap crews.
Year-end cinematic picture
If the current growth momentum is maintained, many film experts predict that the total revenue of Vietnamese films in 2025 could reach 3.5 - 4 trillion VND.
This figure means that the market this year is likely to double in 2024, affirming the increasingly large attraction of domestic films to audiences.
However, over-reliance on a few projects called "blockbuster" also poses risks to the entire industry.
If the remaining films are not strong enough to attract audiences, the film ecosystem can easily fall into a state of "bubble" - strong in prominence but fragile in platform.
To maintain performance, producers and cinemas need to focus more on a long-term strategy: supporting independent films, allocating reasonable release schedules and having effective communication plans.
Moreover, in the aspect of filmmakers needing to improve the quality of the project and select suitable actors.
Vietnamese cinema in 2025 is witnessing an explosion in revenue and audience, but the remaining journey of the year will determine whether this is a sustainable turning point, or just a short-term "excitation" season before returning to familiar uncertainties.
