When Hollywood blockbusters Avatar andTransformers were released in Vietnam at the same time as their worldpremieres last year, it marked a major breakthrough for the localcinema industry.
It also marked the emergence ofVietnam as a major entertainment destination in the world, andindications are that this position will be further entrenched thisyear.
The changes in the Cinema Law which took effect last October haveopened the door wider for movie imports, and fans are in store for somesurprises this year, the Sai Gon Giai Phong (Liberated Sai Gon)newspaper cites industry observers as saying.
More than 90 percent of films shown in the country are imported. Recordticket prices of 200,000 VND (10.5 USD) on the opening day have failedto prevent audiences from jostling each other to get them.
"When coming to the Vietnamese market, we were so confident that theinternational-standard cinematheques system would become popular and beloved as in other countries," said Brian Hall, chairman of Board ofDirectors of Megastar Media JV Co Ltd.
"We recognised that a key factor to succeed is bringing the latest andmost interesting films to audiences at the earliest. We released somefilms including Transformers and Avatar at the same time with othercountries."
The company created ticket fevers with Transformer 2 and New Moon. Butthe breakthrough came with 3D film Avatar, which has recorded boxoffice receipts of 1.5 million USD so far.
In addition to Megastar, other film importers like Galaxy, BHD, and Lotte are also doing well.
Last year, Galaxy scored successes with many films, including 2012 andHarry Porter. The company's revenues from 2012 topped 15 billion VND(810,000 USD).
Recognising that it is hard to compete with Megastar and Galaxy onHollywood action films, BHD has chosen to invest in Chinese
films, while Lotte focuses on films of the Republic of Korea (RoK).
The popularity of imported films has seen the import of not justaction, comedy, adventure, horror and romantic genres, but alsoprize-winning low-budget films like Slumdog Millionaire.
Meanwhile, films like Kungfu Panda have set off a trend that has one ortwo animated films screened at cinemas every few months.
It costs some tens of thousands of dollars to buy a film's copyrightand several thousand dollars for a duplicate, reports Sai Gon GiaiPhong. A lot of duplicates are required to present films at severalcinemas simultaneously. This was why Vietnamese audiences had to waitfor weeks or months to watch new Holywood films.
It has been a different scenario since companies like Megastar andGalaxy became distributors of big foreign studios. They do not have tobuy the copyright but share profits with these studios. Andnegotiations on film releases are made as early as when the film beginsshooting.
Big cinematheques all over the country released three films on March 5,including Percy Jackson&The Olympians: The Lighting Thief – afantasy adventure story based on a series of children's books by RickRiordan; and Little Big Soldier – one of the hottest films in Chinalast Lunar New Year Festival, an action-adventure-comedy produced andwritten by martial artist Jackie Chan.
Take Off by director Kim Yong-hwa is the first RoK film about skijumping, a sport much in vogue in the area's kim chi. Thecomedy-drama-sports film is based on a real story where RoK athletesachieve a record, helping the country win rights to host the WinterOlympics.
Alice in Wonderland is scheduled to be released on March 12. This isthe second 3D fantasy adventure film to be released in Vietnam afterAvatar. The film has 19-year-old Alice returning to the whimsical worldshe first encountered when she was nine. Alice reunites with herchildhood friends: the White Rabbit, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, theDormouse, the Caterpillar, the Cheshire Cat, and of course, the MadHatter (Johnny Depp).
The Wolfman by actor and director Benicio Del Toro will be released onMarch 26. This sad, delusive and horror story is about a noblemanhaunted by knowledge of his own horrifying destiny./.
It also marked the emergence ofVietnam as a major entertainment destination in the world, andindications are that this position will be further entrenched thisyear.
The changes in the Cinema Law which took effect last October haveopened the door wider for movie imports, and fans are in store for somesurprises this year, the Sai Gon Giai Phong (Liberated Sai Gon)newspaper cites industry observers as saying.
More than 90 percent of films shown in the country are imported. Recordticket prices of 200,000 VND (10.5 USD) on the opening day have failedto prevent audiences from jostling each other to get them.
"When coming to the Vietnamese market, we were so confident that theinternational-standard cinematheques system would become popular and beloved as in other countries," said Brian Hall, chairman of Board ofDirectors of Megastar Media JV Co Ltd.
"We recognised that a key factor to succeed is bringing the latest andmost interesting films to audiences at the earliest. We released somefilms including Transformers and Avatar at the same time with othercountries."
The company created ticket fevers with Transformer 2 and New Moon. Butthe breakthrough came with 3D film Avatar, which has recorded boxoffice receipts of 1.5 million USD so far.
In addition to Megastar, other film importers like Galaxy, BHD, and Lotte are also doing well.
Last year, Galaxy scored successes with many films, including 2012 andHarry Porter. The company's revenues from 2012 topped 15 billion VND(810,000 USD).
Recognising that it is hard to compete with Megastar and Galaxy onHollywood action films, BHD has chosen to invest in Chinese
films, while Lotte focuses on films of the Republic of Korea (RoK).
The popularity of imported films has seen the import of not justaction, comedy, adventure, horror and romantic genres, but alsoprize-winning low-budget films like Slumdog Millionaire.
Meanwhile, films like Kungfu Panda have set off a trend that has one ortwo animated films screened at cinemas every few months.
It costs some tens of thousands of dollars to buy a film's copyrightand several thousand dollars for a duplicate, reports Sai Gon GiaiPhong. A lot of duplicates are required to present films at severalcinemas simultaneously. This was why Vietnamese audiences had to waitfor weeks or months to watch new Holywood films.
It has been a different scenario since companies like Megastar andGalaxy became distributors of big foreign studios. They do not have tobuy the copyright but share profits with these studios. Andnegotiations on film releases are made as early as when the film beginsshooting.
Big cinematheques all over the country released three films on March 5,including Percy Jackson&The Olympians: The Lighting Thief – afantasy adventure story based on a series of children's books by RickRiordan; and Little Big Soldier – one of the hottest films in Chinalast Lunar New Year Festival, an action-adventure-comedy produced andwritten by martial artist Jackie Chan.
Take Off by director Kim Yong-hwa is the first RoK film about skijumping, a sport much in vogue in the area's kim chi. Thecomedy-drama-sports film is based on a real story where RoK athletesachieve a record, helping the country win rights to host the WinterOlympics.
Alice in Wonderland is scheduled to be released on March 12. This isthe second 3D fantasy adventure film to be released in Vietnam afterAvatar. The film has 19-year-old Alice returning to the whimsical worldshe first encountered when she was nine. Alice reunites with herchildhood friends: the White Rabbit, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, theDormouse, the Caterpillar, the Cheshire Cat, and of course, the MadHatter (Johnny Depp).
The Wolfman by actor and director Benicio Del Toro will be released onMarch 26. This sad, delusive and horror story is about a noblemanhaunted by knowledge of his own horrifying destiny./.
