The story of “suppressing screenings” continued to be raised by Mai Thu Huyen, but this time it created the opposite effect for this director's film.
Mai Thu Huyen expressed her opinion: “The movies that recently came out in theaters were all very good, but they were pressured in terms of screening rates, and even had to leave theaters early. There are movies that have just been released and have to be withdrawn and re-released later. As soon as the next batch was released, it continued to have no screenings and stopped releasing it again. That is unfair to the filmmakers. It's not the movies I make that make me say it's hard. I believe it is equally difficult for all films to get into shape for theatrical release. Therefore, I want to express the thoughts of independent and private filmmakers like me in Vietnam.
Without the investment of distribution units, these films will certainly not be treated fairly in theaters. In Vietnam today, 80% of theater owners are not Vietnamese. That is really unfair to Vietnamese films.”
Many other members of the crew also spoke up about this incident. The film's producer was frustrated: “Our film's failure in revenue doesn't mean our film is bad. Our movies are blocked from reaching viewers. If it is shown normally without revenue, we completely accept it.
This is a game of chance, even high. My movie lost money, selling my house is normal. But we tried our best to make a quality product that was highly appreciated by world film festivals.”
Audience Le Ha commented: “The problem is that there are screenings. If the occupancy rate is high, the theater will automatically increase screening times to earn sales. Theaters receive up to 60%, so how can they catch them if the movie is bad? If the movie is good or bad, the entire theater's marketing department has already analyzed it all. They're not children and can't judge what the movie is like?
Number of screenings of Fragile Flower at 2 large theaters in Ho Chi Minh City.
Many people agree with this point of view, saying that it is the operating mechanism of the current economy when balancing supply and demand. “Suppressing screenings” is now considered by many audiences to be a PR method for small films without a grand promotion plan.
Most of the “hit” movies by Ly Hai or Tran Thanh have outstanding screenings. For example, during Tet 2024, during the three days of release, Mai continuously received dense coverage, occupying all prime time slots. On average, there is a screening every half hour or hour.
Ly Hai's film Face Off 7 is expected to dominate the box office this Tet holiday.
A movie that left theaters during Tet and returned not long ago was Sang Den directed by Hoang Tuan Cuong. However, this director repeatedly posted in the media, affirming that using the word suppression was “incorrect”. Hoang Tuan Cuong commented that theaters have their own reasons for arranging screenings, and the fact that Sang Den is not widely known during the promotion process is something that needs to be improved.
Mai Thu Huyen at the press conference proudly announced that the movie Fragile Flower won 9 international awards, receiving positive feedback from audiences and foreign experts. Mai Thu Huyen's production team shared that in the US, the film crew made a long cinetour from the East Coast to the West Coast, from March 21 to April 4 at 16 locations in other cities/states. together.
The film is shown in more than 60 theaters in 25 states across the United States. Following the US and Vietnamese markets, Fragile Flower will premiere in 90 theaters in India from May 31, 2024.