The horror film Phi phong: Quy mau rung thieng (Blood Curse in the Sacred Forest), starring Quoc Tuan and Lan Phuong, continues to dominate Vietnam’s box office, approaching VND180 billion (US$7.3 million) in revenue.

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Quoc Tuan and Lan Phuong at the premiere event of Phi phong (Blood Curse in the Sacred Forest) in Hanoi.

Meanwhile, Trum so directed by Duc Thinh and Dai tiec trang mau 8 (Blood Moon Party 8) are heading toward significant losses.

Never before has the box office been as fiercely competitive as during the recent April 30 holiday, when five Vietnamese films were released simultaneously, occupying the entire top five rankings. Yet this crowded slate also meant that revenue was spread thin across titles.

Phi phong gained an early advantage by premiering a week ahead of its official release on April 24. With little competition during the pre-holiday period, the film quickly built momentum and secured the top spot in ticket sales.

After surpassing VND100 billion (US$4.1 million) before the holiday even began, the film has shown no signs of slowing down. Supported by an aggressive promotional campaign and nationwide cinetour events, it reached VND177 billion (US$7.2 million) in revenue by May 3, according to Box Office Vietnam. The film has also set a new record as the highest-grossing horror movie of all time in the country.

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A scene from the film Heo nam mong (Five Hoofed Pig).

Ranking second is Heo nam mong (Five Hoofed Pig), featuring Vo Tan Phat and Thanh Van. The film has earned VND91 billion (US$3.7 million) after 10 days in cinemas.

Anh Hung (The Hero), starring Thai Hoa and exploring the theme of charity exploitation, has brought in only VND36 billion (US$1.5 million), placing third despite strong critical reception.

Dai tiec trang mau 8 ranks fourth with VND29 billion (US$1.2 million), while Trum so sits at the bottom of the top five with just VND13 billion (US$530,000), making losses almost inevitable. Duc Thinh revealed that the film would need to reach VND80 billion (US$3.3 million) to break even.

This year also marks the absence of Ly Hai, long known as the “king of the April 30 box office,” who did not release a new installment of his Lat mat series. In his absence, the market witnessed, for the first time, five domestic films competing head-to-head in a contest even more intense than the Lunar New Year season.

Huyen My