Vietnam is about to have 50 more high-end movie theaters
Beta Media - the owner of the Beta Cinema cinema chain - has just announced a cooperation agreement with Japanese business Aeon Entertainment (part of Aeon Group), whereby the two parties will establish a joint venture to build and operate. High-end cinema chain in Vietnam under the Aeon Beta Cinema brand. With a capital of more than 5,000 billion VND (200 million USD), this joint venture will build 50 new theaters from now until 2035. They will also cooperate in producing and distributing Vietnamese, Japanese and international films in the market. Vietnam.
Sharing about the reasons for investing in theaters in Vietnam, Mr. Nobuyuki Fujiwara - CEO of Aeon Entertainment said: "In Japan, the movie market is saturated, we are aiming at the international market and we chose Vietnam because we see this market has a lot of potential." The appearance of Aeon Entertainment, the company operating the largest cinema system in Japan with 96 screens, marks another foreign "shark" competing for a lucrative piece of the pie from a market of nearly 100 million people. of Vietnam.
Aeon Beta Cinema targets the high-end segment, which has not been exploited much in Vietnam. Previously, Vietnam recorded many foreign investors such as Megastar (USA), CJ CGV (Korea), Platinum (Indonesia) in addition to domestic companies such as BHD and Galaxy.
What is the attraction of the Vietnamese theater market?
Despite the box office successes of the two films "Mai", "Face Off 7" (total revenue of nearly 1,000 billion VND) and many foreign blockbusters such as "Exhuma: Unearthing the Ghost", "Godzilla x Kong", "Kungfu Panda 4"... a series of Vietnamese films released recently all died prematurely such as: "Light of Light", "Murder on the 4th Floor", "Fragile Flower", "Claws"... The film failed. means the manufacturer loses money. So why is an international film industry "shark" like Aeon Entertainment investing in the Vietnamese market at this time? Customers coming to the theater not only buy tickets but also buy snacks and commercial items related to the movie. A movie ticket costs between 70,000 - 100,000 VND, and the price of accompanying snacks (only sold at the theater is allowed to be brought into the theater) is also at the same level (or even higher). A regional manager of a large foreign-invested theater complex once admitted, "revenue from food and beverage business at theaters brings the largest and most profitable source of revenue."
In order for a film to be shown in the theater where the film is produced, the distributor must always agree on a sharing ratio with the theater owner. Usually this ratio is at 55/45 or 40/60 (sometimes the difference is even higher with the advantage always favoring the theater owner, depending on the relationship between the two parties). Therefore, out of the total revenue of nearly 1,000 billion VND of "Mai" and "Face 7", the amount of money flowing into the pockets of theater owners is not less than 500 billion VND. Filmmakers can win or lose, but theater owners cannot (except during the closure period due to the COVID-19 epidemic).
According to the financial report of CJ CGV Vietnam (the unit that owns the largest number of cinema screens in our country today), despite the film industry being in a recession, revenue in 2023 will still reach nearly 139 million USD (approximately 139 million USD). 3,500 billion VND), an increase of 23% compared to 2022. Operating profit increased by 32% to 11.1 million USD (more than 276 billion VND). Therefore, it is easy to understand when "sharks" want to jump into exploiting the Vietnamese market.
The appearance of foreign investors is necessary, but it is also necessary to recognize the downsides: What if the joint venture Aeon Beta Cinema imported and released a number of Japanese and international films that exceeded its production? Vietnamese film production? What benefits will Vietnamese filmmakers and the Vietnamese cinema industry receive, or is it simply a market for foreign giants to exploit? To answer this question, it may require the participation of State management agencies, scientists, and policy makers in the field of culture and investment attraction.
