Hanoi [Vietnam], September 4: The September 2nd holiday was expected to create a close race between many Vietnamese films. However, the box office showed almost the opposite scenario: 'The Hero's Spirit - The Mystery of King Dinh's Tomb' faltered, 'The Rich Heir' failed to make a breakthrough, while 'Summer Vacation Afraid of Retirement' continued its impressive revenue streak.
According to data from Box Office Vietnam, on September 2nd alone, "Summer Vacation Afraid of Retirement" grossed over 13.1 billion VND with nearly 128,000 tickets sold across 2,658 screenings. "The Rich Kid" came in second with over 8 billion VND, while "Guardian Spirit Warrior - The Mystery of King Dinh's Tomb" only reached nearly 3.94 billion VND.
By noon on September 3rd, the situation remained essentially unchanged. Summer vacation fear of retirement surpassed 173 billion VND and continued to lead. The wealthy son surpassed 36.8 billion VND, while the new hero remained at around 24.4 billion VND after nearly a week of release.
The "Hộ Linh Trang Sĩ" (Guardian Spirit of the Valiant Warrior) project did not achieve the expected revenue.
Before its release, director Nguyen Phan Quang Binh 's film possessed many elements to become a domestic "blockbuster": a project that had been in preparation for many years, a large-scale production with a budget of approximately 100 billion VND, rare historical material, and a cast of veteran actors including Johnny Tri Nguyen, Do Hai Yen, Tuan Tran, Quach Ngoc Ngoan, People's Artist Tu Long, Tran Thien Tu...
Despite scoring points for its spectacular setting, meticulous costumes, and visually stunning martial arts, the film still faced much controversy due to its weak script, unconvincing storytelling, and character development. The production team even made the unusual decision to release a new 135-minute cut (20 minutes less than the original) just days after its release, in order to speed up the pace and focus maximally on the action.
This move demonstrates the producer's willingness to learn and their quick response, but the harsh reality of the box office reveals a major lesson: once initial word-of-mouth is negative, any attempt to turn things around midway becomes incredibly difficult.
Source: Thanh Nein Newspaper
