When it comes to films imported from other countries, Korean, Thai and Indonesian movies are currently among the most popular. ![]() Then they were happy to come to the cinema when the film versions were released.” During the pandemic, audiences became familiar with the characters in big Japanese franchises because they started watching them on OTT platforms. “It’s a similar case with Japanese anime. “Among the Hollywood films, we still find that the franchise movies work best,” says Nguyen Hoang Hai, Chief Content Officer of CJ CGV Vietnam, which handles titles for Warner Bros, Paramount and Universal (local studio Galaxy handles Disney and Sony). These results reflect trends across much of post-pandemic Asia, in which the supply of fresh US studio films has slowed down, thanks to the double whammy of Covid and Hollywood strikes, at the same time that Gen Z audiences are clamouring for content that is more culturally relevant to them and featuring Asian pop culture trends and stars. Two Japanese animated films - the latest instalments in the Detective Conan and Doreamon franchises - also ranked in the top ten. Only two US studios titles - Fast X and Elemental - made it into the top ten in 2023, while six local productions made the chart, headed by The House Of No Man, Ly Hai’s Face Off 6: The Ticket of Destiny and period drama Song of the South. ![]() “So that age group is basically dictating the tastes of the market: Local romance, comedy and horror as well as movies from Korea, Thailand and Indonesia.” Justin Kim, CJ ENM’s Head of International Film Production, adds that it’s also a demanding and unforgiving audience: “They’re very active on social media, especially TikTok and Instagram, and will react quickly if they think the quality of a movie is not so good.”Ĭurrently, it’s also an audience that seems to prefer local films to Hollywood fare. “It’s a very young audience - we estimate that up to 80% are under the age of 29,” says CJ HK Distribution Supervisor Nguyen Tuan Linh. Korea’s CJ ENM and Lotte are also active in financing and producing Vietnamese-language movies - CJ with films such as Mai and The House Of No Man and Lotte with titles including Le Van Kiet’s 2019 action film Furie and Victor Vu’s recent period drama The Last Wife. Recently, Vietnam has also seen the emergence of hip new cinema chains, such as Beta Cinemas and Cinestar, which offer lower ticket prices aimed at students and middle income cinema-goers.Īlso driving the market is a lively local production sector that is experimenting with new genres and making a wider range of films - again an achievement considering that private companies were only allowed to start producing in the mid-2000s. The growth is due to a few factors, but one of the biggest is the multiplex building programmes undertaken by Korean exhibitors CJ CGV and Lotte Cinema, along with local studios Galaxy Cinema and BHD Star Cineplex. The films set records for a local horror movie in Vietnam despite the fact that January is usually a quiet month ahead of Tet. Before the Tet holiday, 89s Group’s horror Quy Cau, from first-time director Luu Thanh Luan, topped the box office for six consecutive weeks, grossing more than VND108BN ($4.5M). The busy release schedule reflects a vibrant market that has seen stellar post-pandemic recovery - by some counts the second fastest recovery in Asia following India - along with a young but dynamic local industry. Also opening in this period were Japanese animation Spy X Family Code: White, which came in third, followed by US studio films Madame Web and Argylle. ![]() Two other local films also opened on February 10 - Hoang Tuan Cuong’s music-themed Bright Lights ( Sang Den) and Le Hoang’s drama Tea - but withdrew from cinemas after a few days as the battle was so intense. Japan's Toho Acquires 25% Stake In Fifth Season Korea's CJ ENM Remains Majority ShareholderĪlso released over the holidays, known as Tet in Vietnam, was Nhat Trung’s comedy Meet My Pregnant Sister Again, which came in second with $3M.
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