Vietnam’s ‘Red Rain’ war film hits $18.9mn as industry eyes $37.8mn milestone

By Friday evening, ‘Red Rain’ had surpassed VND500 billion in revenue, according to data from Box Office Vietnam. 

The film has also sold more than 5.4 million tickets, compared with 6.5 million for ‘Mai’—Vietnam's current highest-grossing film.

With a population now exceeding 100 million, analysts argue the five to six million tickets sold still undershoot the domestic market's full potential. 

To reach VND1 trillion, a Vietnamese film would need to sell approximately 11 million tickets

At its current trajectory, ‘Red Rain’ could match ‘Mai’'s box office total by the end of the weekend, and ultimately surpass it. 

The release of ‘Death Battle in the Air’—a major production slated for September 19—may slow its momentum, but ‘Red Rain’ could still finish with over VND600 billion ($22.7 million) in revenue.

The previous five years has seen a steady climb in domestic box office records, beginning with ‘Dad, I’m Sorry’ reaching VND427 billion ($16.2 million) in 2021. 

Only 2022 saw no new record.

Comparisons with other markets highlight the potential: South Korea, with a population of 51 million, saw its most popular film, ‘The Admiral: Roaring Currents,' sell 17.6 million tickets; in China, ‘Ne Zha 2’ alone sold 300 million tickets; and in Indonesia, ‘Jumbo’ brought in nearly 10 million ticket sales.

To unlock that future, however, Vietnam must expand its cinema infrastructure and screening capacity, industry analysts said. 

Currently, around 7,000 showings serve the entire nation each day, heavily concentrated on the top three films.

If this scale-up — alongside growing audience habits — continues, a VND1 trillion Vietnamese film may no longer be in the realm of dreams.