Tran Thanh's steering
The focus of that painting, it is impossible not to mention Tran Thanh and the unexpected turn named "Thỏ ơi!!". After resounding success with family films, where he has almost formed his own "box office brand", Tran Thanh chose to step out of the comfort zone with a completely different genre: Psychology - thriller.
This is not an easy choice. With a market that is familiar with laughter and gentle tears, putting the audience into tense, multi-layered stories always contains risks. But "Thỏ ơi!!" has proven the opposite. 449 billion VND as of the beginning of April is a convincing figure. The record of 50 billion VND in the first 24 hours is not simply a media effect, but a combination of audience belief in a filmmaker who dares to change.
More importantly, the film also brought in 1 million USD from the international market after only one week of release. A milestone that is not too big if placed in a global context, but has symbolic meaning: Vietnamese films are starting to step outside the border not only with fame, but with real revenue.
Many colors
If "Thỏ ơi!!" is a personal breakthrough, then the rest of the market reflects a broader trend when audiences accept more colorful "food". Horror film "Quỷ nhập tràng 2" by director Pom Nguyen, released in March 2026, surpassed the 100 billion VND mark after only about 7-8 days of screening.
As of early April 2026, film revenue has exceeded the 130 billion VND mark, affirming that the horror genre is still attractive to Vietnamese audiences. The action movie "Tai" produced by My Tam and directed by Mai Tai Phen has officially reached a revenue milestone of more than 111 billion VND after more than 20 days of screening (as of the end of March 2026), becoming one of the outstanding Vietnamese films at the beginning of the year.
Blood Paradise" by director Hoang Tuan Cuong, an action/criminal film exploiting the scam of Vietnamese people going abroad, reached 100 billion VND in just two weeks. Usually, criminal topics like this are more suitable for multi-episode TV series, but it is the sharpness and closeness to social reality that becomes a factor attracting audiences to theaters.
In another extreme, "My Father's House, One Room" by director Truong Giang (who is also screenwriter and plays the main role) is a story about father-son love with messages rich in humanity. Not really having breakthroughs in storytelling, the film still achieved 110 billion VND, a achievement showing that audiences still always make room for simple emotions about family affection, as long as it is told sincerely.
And "God-given Treasure" by director Le Thanh Son is an interesting story about a single mother with the acting of two familiar names Tuan Tran and Phuong Anh Dao and a very charming supporting cast. The film's reaching the 103 billion VND mark is a worthy reward for a film with warm, humane sounds, combined with humorous situations.
The market is no longer dependent on the "season
For many years, Vietnamese cinema has almost operated according to a fixed rule: Tet movies determine most of the year's revenue. But the first quarter of 2026 is showing a significant breakthrough. Hundred-billion-VND movies no longer focus on a single point of time. Instead, they appear scattered, creating a continuous flow. This not only helps stabilize the market but also reduces pressure on producers, who were previously forced to "bet" everything on a short film season.
Entering April, positive signs continue to appear. "Hẹn em ngày nhật thực" by director Le Thien Vien quickly entered the top of the box office in the first week of the month, showing the appeal of love stories processed in a new direction. Meanwhile, "Song Hỷ Lâm Nguy" by director Vu Ha, although newly released, has also reached over 11 billion VND, opening up expectations for a vibrant April 30th holiday film season.
Numbers and a maturity
If you only look at the difference between 1,080 billion VND in 2026 and 1,108 billion VND in 2025, there may be opinions that the market is stagnating. But that reading is one-sided.
In 2025, the explosion largely comes from a few "super products" that are phenomenal. Meanwhile, 2026 shows a more balanced revenue structure: Many films both reach hundreds of billions of VND, spread across many genres. This is much more important than setting records. It shows that the market foundation is stronger, less dependent on luck, and most importantly, reflects a change in audience behavior. Vietnamese audiences today are no longer easygoing. They do not go to theaters just because of actors' names or media effects. They are willing to spend money on movies with good stories, whether it's psychology, crime or social topics that were once considered dry.
The question is not whether Vietnamese cinema can continue to break records, but whether it can maintain this diversity in the long term. The success of "Thỏ ơi!!" or "Heaven of Blood" can inspire filmmakers to venture into new genres. But along with that is also the risk: when a new formula is successful, the market tends to repeat it to the point of saturation.
What Vietnamese cinema needs now is not more "hits", but a stable ecosystem where different genres can coexist, where audiences have more choices, and where quality is put above all short-term strategies.
Looking from the numbers, Vietnamese cinema 2026 is at an interesting crossroads: just mature enough to escape old formulas, but also not completely stable enough to avoid new loopholes. Vietnamese audiences have never turned their backs on Vietnamese films, only demanding more good films. And when filmmakers understand that, trillions of VND will no longer be the destination, but only the inevitable consequence of a cinema that knows how to tell interesting and unique stories.
