The Vietnamese box office has finally seen a notable shift with the release of Huynh Lap's "Nghi he so nghi huu" (Summer Vacation, Retirement Fear).
Quang Trung, Cody Nam Vo, and Puka in 'Summer Break, Fear of Retirement' - Photo: Provided by producer
The past week saw a wave of film releases on August 14, including notable titles such as "Nghi he so nghi huu", "PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie", "The Last Stop in Yuma County", and "Blind Spot"...
Huynh Lap's "Nghi he so nghi huu" held early screenings starting at 6:00 PM on August 14, continuing throughout August 15 and 16, before its official nationwide release on August 21. According to Box Office Vietnam data, "Nghi he so nghi huu" grossed 30 billion VND over the past weekend. The film had approximately 3,500 screenings per day, dominating its competitors. The plot revolves around Tri Binh, a Gen Z young man who returns to a remote countryside to spend his summer vacation with his grandfather, Mr. Thoi—a veteran who has lived alone for many years. Tri Binh repeatedly witnesses a series of strange phenomena involving his grandfather and receives chilling warnings from the locals.
As the secret about Mr. Thoi is gradually revealed, he is forced to face his fears and bridge the generational gap to gradually realize the values that seemed to have been forgotten - Photo: Provided by producer
Interweaving laughter, spiritual elements, and awkward situations, "Nghi he so nghi huu" is a story about family, maturity, and the journey to find an answer to the lingering question: "What if this life isn't spectacular?" However, while the film touches on emotions, technically, "Nghi he so nghi huu" is a step backward for Huynh Lap compared to "Nha gia tien".
The scenes reveal the film's intended audience reactions through the overuse of theatrical-style staging, overly dramatic dialogue, and music used to "manipulate emotions." Huynh Lap leaves some unfortunate gaps in pacing control, especially in the second half when the film begins to juggle too many situations, particularly the constant switching between reality and fantasy, which at times makes the narrative confusing and disjointed.
In second place is "Spider-Man: Brand New Day", which has grossed 195 billion VND after more than half a month in theaters. The film still has about 1,500 screenings per day. Thus, the superhero blockbuster from Sony and Marvel is certain to reach the 200 billion VND milestone.
Notably, the current performance of "Brand New Day" far exceeds previous installments at the Vietnamese box office. "Spider-Man: Homecoming" previously grossed over 60 billion VND, while "Spider-Man: Far From Home" reached approximately 110 billion VND. With "Spider-Man: No Way Home", the franchise continued to show strong appeal by grossing 127 billion VND, despite being released when the film market was still heavily affected by the post-pandemic landscape.
Spider-Man has a production budget of approximately $225 million - Photo: Sony
In third place is "PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie", which grossed 8 billion VND in its opening weekend, with about 500 screenings per day.
The film is set when the PAW Patrol's ship is caught in a mysterious storm, and the rescue dog team accidentally ends up on an unknown tropical island inhabited by many ancient dinosaur species.
They meet Rex, a dinosaur expert who has been stranded on the island for many years. Things get worse when Mayor Humdinger, the PAW Patrol's arch-rival, plots to exploit the natural resources here, accidentally triggering the eruption of a giant volcano.
Facing the threat of the island being wiped out, the rescue dog team must carry out missions of a larger scale than ever before to stop Humdinger and save the dinosaurs from extinction.
These box office achievements show that PAW Patrol is gradually moving beyond the framework of a children's television brand, becoming a name capable of attracting family audiences to theaters - Photo: Provided by producer
