Anthony Vo – director of “The Legend of King Dinh” – shared that when he and his crew decided to make a historical film and put it on theaters, he was prepared to receive all the “bricks and stones” from the audience.
As of November 25, the film’s revenue is 42 million VND. Talking to Tien Phong on the morning of November 24, director Anthony Vo shared his thoughts about the movie Huyen Su King Dinh.
Talking about the difficulties when making a historical film, director Anthony Vo said that the biggest obstacle is the funding to turn script ideas into movies. Besides, historical films are a picky topic for audiences, so it is difficult to raise funds.
“I always try to take advantage of what I have to build the best film possible. In addition to the difficulty of funding, the topic of the film that is difficult to see is the issue of licensing and censorship. The film has to pay attention from character creation, historical milestones to each line… The most difficult thing is still how to have a pure Vietnamese epic film that viewers don’t have to utter like they’re watching a Chinese movie. “…
Director Anthony Vo said that he and his crew planned in advance that the film would not achieve high sales. Photo: DPC.
Director Anthony Vo said he was passionate about history since childhood, so he always cherished making films on this topic. Anthony Vo wishes that young people pay more attention to history, producers, directors, and investors also pay more attention to Vietnamese historical films and have many interesting and interesting Vietnamese historical films on the electronic market. home photo.
“Vietnamese audiences are so used to Chinese and Korean blockbusters that are invested with hundreds of millions of dollars, so with a young Vietnamese film industry and a limited budget, we are prepared to accept every ‘” bricks’ from the audience. However, I am happy to receive many words of encouragement,” said director Anthony Vo.
According to director Anthony Vo, he and his crew planned in advance that the film would not achieve high sales. “This is a series of historical films that are picky to watch again in theaters at the same time as the 2022 World Cup, so the revenue is not high, which is understandable. Anticipating that situation, but we still decided to let the film out on Vietnamese Teachers’ Day as a tribute to the teachers. However, what made me and the crew sad was the showtime. In the early days of its release, the theater only arranged one show a day in the early morning or late at night. How else ‘squeeze’ the popularity of movies to the public. If the theater shows many shows in the early days but the audience does not come to the theater, it is our fault, the fault of the film’s content as well as the film’s promotion team… In fact, there are many audiences who come to the cinema to support the movie but Not having a seat to see it is what I regret,” said director Anthony Vo.
According to data from Box Office Vietnam – an independent box office statistics unit, after 5 days of release, Huyen Su King Dinh achieved a low revenue of 39 million dong. This is considered the lowest Vietnamese film revenue in the history of Vietnamese cinema.
Updating the showtime on November 23 on moveek.com, there are about 16 screening locations in Hanoi, of which CGV Cinemas has 13 cinemas, Lotte Cinema has 2 and BHD Star Cineplex has only 1 theater with showtimes. common in the middle of the morning (9am) and late at night (23pm).
In Ho Chi Minh City, there are 26 cinemas, of which CGV Cinemas accounts for 19 theaters, Lotte Cinema has 4 theaters and BHD Star Cineplex only has 2 theaters, with a popular time frame in the morning, around 9 or 10 am.
Talking to Tien Phong, the distributor’s representative said that they are the bridge between the producer and the cinema.
“Before the movie Huyen Su King Dinh was released, we worked with the production unit to point out the film’s strengths and weaknesses. When it was first released, cinemas also arranged screenings at golden hours such as 18, 19 or 8 pm. Later, if there is an adjustment in showtimes and showtimes, it will also be balanced by the theater side and assessed on the revenue situation and audience feedback. We work with cinemas in the spirit of supporting Vietnamese films. However, theaters have their own criteria and ratings. We respect the decision of the theater,” a representative of the distribution unit shared.
This person further emphasized, no distributor wants the film they are in charge to release at a loss because it will affect their reputation in the market. It all depends on the reception of the audience. Many films had low showings at first, but when there were signs of revenue growth, theaters actively increased. Cinemas are directly responsible to the audience, so they have their own fair share of movies.