Stephen Chow's films dominate Vietnamese films during Tet 2017

“Journey to the West: The Love Story 2” had the most views during the 3 days of the Dinh Dau Lunar New Year, surpassing Jackie Chan's film and overwhelming all 3 Vietnamese films.

This year, audiences have about 6-7 options when going to the cinema during the Lunar New Year 2017. However, the film market during the Tet season has had a very significant difference.

Vietnamese films are participating in the Tet race this year with three works: Strange Green Forest, Fairy with 5 Houses and Luc Van Tien: The Ultimate Kung Fu. Foreign films include Journey to the West: Love Story 2, Kungfu Yoga and xXx: Return of Xander Cage. Most of them are action comedies, suitable for the first day of the year.

Journey to the West

According to a survey by Zing.vn reporters, from noon on the first day of the Lunar New Year, cinemas in Ho Chi Minh City began to be crowded with viewers, mainly multi-generational families, including both adults and children. Therefore, most of them chose movies suitable for many audiences.

Among them, Journey to the West: The Love Story Part 2 is given priority among the films shown during Tet. With the film brand associated with the “comedy king” Stephen Chow, many people confidently choose the second part of the adapted Journey to the West.

In 2016, the famous director of the Chinese screen made a splash with The Mermaid, which attracted even more viewers. Before that, the first part of The Love Story was also shown in Vietnam four years ago, so it had a certain base audience.

At CGV, Galaxy or BHD cinemas, Journey to the West: The Love Story 2 is always sold out. From the 1st to the 3rd day of Tet, the work has more than 10 screenings each day, each screening less than 60 minutes apart. It is worth mentioning that movie lovers buy tickets from the days before Tet. Therefore, those who come to see the movie spontaneously often wait for the next screening.

Jackie Chan's Kung Fu Yoga is somewhat overshadowed by the modest number of screenings. At Galaxy cinemas, the actor's new film Rush Hour only has about 6 screenings, which is only half the size of Stephen Chow's film. However, at CGV cinemas, since the second day of Tet, Jackie Chan's film has gradually become popular as it has increased its screenings.

The movie xXx: Return of Xander Cage also became a favorite movie during Tet. Every day, Vin Diesel's movie has up to 8 screenings at CGV cinema complex, but less than at BHD or Galaxy.

Vietnamese films are completely overshadowed during Tet. The Fairy has 5 houses and is shown a lot at CGV, Galaxy and Mega cinemas, with an average of 5-6 shows per day.

On the contrary, Strange Green Forest is only shown the most at Mega GS because it is distributed by this unit. Lotte Cinema also reserved screenings for Khuong Ngoc's film, but the work is not shown at CGV or BHD. Galaxy Cinema only shows at theaters far from the city center.

Finally, Luc Van Tien: Tuyet Dinh Kung Fu is distributed by Lotte so it has priority in terms of the number of screenings. However, at other cinema complexes, director Hoang Phuc's film only has 2-3 screenings per day.

In the Northern region, a similar situation also occurred. Mr. Vu Duc Luong, manager of the CGV cinema complex in the North, shared: "Journey to the West: The Love Story 2 and xXx: Return of Xander Cage almost had the same number of audiences at our cinema system in the North."

"Vietnamese films this year are really not impressive. Audiences do not choose them, so theaters cannot reserve many screenings for them. Overall, the number of audiences in the North during Tet this year increased by about 10% compared to Tet 2016," he said.

Vu Minh Chien, director of Platinum Cineplex, commented: “Movies by Stephen Chow, Jackie Chan and Vin Diesel were continuously sought after by audiences in Hanoi during the Tet holiday. For the three Vietnamese films, only the cinema complex in Nha Trang is still popular because the preference for domestic films has existed there for a long time.”

Before the Tet movie season, the public was in an uproar when distributor BHD withdrew Run Then Think, pushing the comedy by Diem My 9X and Hua Vi Van to be shown from the New Year.

At that time, BHD's distribution representative, Ms. Ngo Thi Bich Hanh, commented: "In previous years, people always thought that Tet was the time for Vietnamese films, with a series of domestic films competing to be released in theaters. In reality, that is no longer the case. We have to accept that."

Controversy over movie quality on forums

Although it was the most watched, Journey to the West: The Love Story 2 created a wave of controversy on forums and social networks. Many people expressed disappointment after watching the film because of the awkward script and unsuitable cast (played by Kris Wu, Lin Gengxin, and Bao Bei'er), so the laughter was somewhat forced.

But there are still many arguments defending “The Star” and Tsui Hark when they praise the impressive special effects and many unexpected scenes. The arguments show that quality does not always match box office records.

On the contrary, the responses from Jackie Chan's Kung Fu Yoga movie were more positive. However, due to various reasons, the Chinese star lost popularity in the Vietnamese market and the movie was not really promoted too much when it was released.

In 2016, Vietnamese films set a record in quantity, so filmmakers are no longer under pressure in the Tet race. There are three works, but two of them do not choose the familiar comedy genre.

The Strange Green Forest by Khuong Ngoc - Ngoc Hung is based on the idea of ​​​​forest people and mutants. In addition to its strangeness, the film also conveys a message of environmental protection. The star cast such as Hoai Linh, Thu Trang - Tien Luat couple, Hua Minh Dat... are all popular names.

However, the director duo’s second film project has yet to attract viewers beyond its relatively impressive special effects. The film’s script is still quite clumsy with an unconvincing problem-solving approach. Being “cold-shouldered” by cinema chains has also made it difficult for Strange Green Forest to win in terms of revenue.

Trying his hand at directing for the first time, actor Hoang Phuc was also recognized for his efforts to create a decent work. He invested heavily in the action part of Luc Van Tien: Tuyet Dinh Kung Fu by inviting Andy Long - the actor who used to stand in for Jackie Chan - and a foreign crew to take care of the martial arts. However, the laughter in the film was still quite awkward.

Meanwhile, The Fairy Has 5 Houses is simply a comedy with the participation of many popular comedians. However, after many films were labeled as “nonsense comedies”, Hoai Linh’s name is no longer a guarantee of box office revenue as before.

In particular, when audiences have more options, comedians' films are no longer favored.

According to Zing