The end of year movie season war

Never before have Vietnamese films been so strong as they are this year. Counting Christmas, New Year and Lunar New Year, there were seven films scheduled to be shown in theaters, while in previous years there were only about three. The competition to win audiences for each film is therefore much fiercer this year.

In previous years, with a small number of films and high demand for entertainment during the holidays, the revenue from Tet films always satisfied producers. This year, the market pie is even more fragmented, with not only romantic and comedic films dominating, but also horror and historical films being released during this time. Audiences will have more choices, and producers will therefore be more worried.

Take advantage of Facebook, attack young audiences

Producers take advantage of even the “small pieces of cake” to gain their own audience. Producer of the film Vu dieu duong cong, Do Quang Minh admitted: “Overseas Vietnamese director Nguyen Trong Khoa, currently a lecturer at RMIT University, when making Vu dieu duong cong, had many students from this university join the film crew. These are modern young people, with a lot of access to world cinema and are very interested in the way of making Vu dieu duong cong films. Through them, we also promote strongly to the group of students at RMIT. The target audience is quite narrow, but with the competitive situation, we are willing to approach the “small pieces of cake” to gain the audience.”

Behind the scenes photos of Heroic Destiny like this
is being loaded on Facebook pages

“The script must target the right point of taste,” that is the secret of producer Phuoc Sang, whose films have been criticized by the public for being professionally sloppy but are always popular. “There are many films, but I am not worried because our films always have their own audience. Hello Miss Ba this Tet holiday will follow the criteria of Phuoc Sang’s Tet films, which are full of comedy, bustling, and films for the whole family to watch. We have already released the film’s trailers online and right now, everyone is talking about it,” Phuoc Sang confidently said.

It can be seen that this year, producers are very proactive in promoting and marketing films. They take full advantage of social networks such as Facebook, forums, and YouTube to convey information and reach the public, instead of waiting for audiences like in previous years. Most films, when they start filming, have personal pages and fan pages on Facebook. There, the film crew updates behind-the-scenes information, the latest images of the film crew, and creates curiosity for the audience.

One of the films that promoted quite well was the horror film The Blood Curse by director Bui Thac Chuyen. The interaction between the film and the audience was quite successful after the poster design contest for the film. The contest received a lot of attention from the public, attracting more than 300 entries, especially young people in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, who paid for tickets to the cinema. Or the film Fee for Love by director Nguyen Minh Chung created a happy impression on young audiences when the film crew mobilized more than 500 students to join a volunteer dance group at Anh Sao Bridge, District 7 for a final scene. At the same time, the clip of people dancing voluntarily to cheer on the proposal of a Vietnamese-American student was becoming popular on the internet, so Fee for Love promoted "following" quite successfully.

The movie that is predicted to be a hit during this year's Tet holiday is Thien Menh Anh Hung because of its high investment and beautiful scenes shot all over the country, and the important reason is that the movie is directed by controversial director Victor Vu. The producer cleverly released the trailer online, at the cinema, and kept silent about all the gossip and criticism from the audience to create a curious effect until the movie's release date. The movie is currently creating a lot of public opinion on the internet.

Movie quality is still paramount

It is impossible to know the exact quality of films at this time by just looking at trailers, images and information about the film's content. But most producers are very confident. "There are many films, high competition, so there is a bit of worry, but once you enter the game, you have to accept it. The most important thing is that the audience will have more choices for their preferences. As for filmmakers, there is nothing else but to improve the quality of films, to become responsible filmmakers," Do Quang Minh shared.

“Audiences are now very sensitive and perceptive. Movies are released in theaters for two or three days and there is already feedback from the audience. No matter what kind of promotion or PR, quality must be the most important factor,” said Ms. Bich Hanh, director of BHD Company. Meanwhile, director Le Hoang, who returns with Tonight, 8 o’clock on Christmas, is confident when talking about his film: “There are markets like Ben Thanh market, rural markets and supermarkets, so why worry? Movies are the same, there is no difference!”

With seven upcoming films, not to mention Milestone 23, which is still in the planning stages, audiences will definitely have a lot to look forward to this season, rather than just waiting for Hollywood's release schedule.

According to SGTT