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Showtime: Youth queue for tickets at the Megastar Cineplex Hung Vuong in HCM City. — VNS File Photo |
HCM CITY – When Hollywood blockbusters Avatar and Transformers were released in Viet Nam at the same time as their world premieres last year, it marked a major breakthrough for the local cinema industry.
It also marked the emergence of Viet Nam as a major entertainment destination in the world, and indications are that this position will be further entrenched this year.
The changes in the Cinema Law which took effect last October has opened the door wider for movie imports, and fans are in store for some surprises this year, the Sai Gon Giai Phong (Liberated Sai Gon) newspaper cites industry observers as saying.
More than 90 per cent of films shown in the country are imported. Record ticket prices of VND200,000 (US$10.5) on the opening day have failed to prevent audiences from jostling each other to get them.
"When coming to the Vietnamese market, we were so confident that the international-standard cinematheques system would become popular and be loved as in other countries," said Brian Hall, chairman of Board of Directors of Megastar Media JV Co Ltd.
"We recognised that a key factor to succeed is bringing the latest and most interesting films to audiences at the earliest. We released some films including Transformers and Avatar at the same time with other countries."
The company created ticket fevers with Transformer 2 and New Moon. But the breakthrough came with 3D film Avatar, which has recorded box office receipts of $1.5 million so far.
Besides Megastar, other film importers like Galaxy, BHD, Lotte are also doing well.
Last year, Galaxy scored successes with many films, including 2012 and Harry Porter. The company's revenues from 2012 topped VND15 billion ($810,000).
Recognising that it is hard to compete with Megastar and Galaxy on Hollywood action films, BHD has chosen to invest in Chinese films, while Lotte focuses on South Korean films.
Choices expand
The popularity of imported films has seen the import of not just action, comedy, adventure, horror and romantic genres, but also prize-winning low-budget films like Slumdog Millionaire.
Meanwhile, films like Kungfu Panda have set off a trend that has one or two animated films screened at cinemas every few months.
It costs some tens of thousands of dollars to buy a film's copyright and several thousand dollars for a duplicate, reports Sai Gon Giai Phong. A lot of duplicates are required to present films at several cinemas simultaneously. This was why Vietnamese audiences had to wait for weeks or months to watch new Holywood films.
It has been a different scenario since companies like Megastar and Galaxy became distributors of big foreign studios. They do not have to buy the copyright but share profits with these studios. And negotiations on film releases are made as early as when the film begins shooting.
New releases
Big cinematheques all over the country realeased three films on March 5, including Percy Jackson&The Olympians: The Lighting Thief – a fantasy adventure story based on a series of children's books by Rick Riordan; and Little Big Soldier – one of the hottest films in China last Lunar New Year Festival, an action-adventure-comedy produced and written by martial artist Jackie Chan.
Take Off by director Kim Yong-hwa is the first South Korean film about ski jumping, a sport much in vogue in the area's kim chi. The comedy-drama-sports film is based on a real story where Korean athletes achieve a record, helping the country win rights to host the Winter Olympics.
Alice in Wonderland will be released tomorrow. This is the second 3D fantasy adventure film to be released in Viet Nam after Avatar. The film has 19-year-old Alice returning to the whimsical world she first encountered when she was nine. Alice reunites with her childhood friends: the White Rabbit, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, the Dormouse, the Caterpillar, the Cheshire Cat, and of course, the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp).
The Wolfman by actor and director Benicio Del Toro will be released on March 26. This sad, delusive and horror story is about a nobleman haunted by knowledge of his own horrifying destiny. — VNS