After several years away from the Tet film market, director Victor Vu is officially returning to one of the most competitive periods on Vietnam’s cinema calendar, going head-to-head with a new Lunar New Year (Tet) release from Tran Thanh announced just days earlier.

Detective Kien: The Golden Curse, the sequel to Detective Kien, which grossed nearly US$9.6 million at the box office last year, has unveiled its first images and confirmed a Lunar New Year 2027 release.

The film will introduce an entirely new case while raising expectations that some of the mysteries left unresolved in the first installment could finally be revealed.

This time, the story will expand beyond the mountainous landscapes of the previous film to coastal settings, while remaining rooted in 19th-century Vietnamese society. Quoc Huy will reprise the leading role of Detective Kien.

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Quoc Huy returns as Detective Kien in “Detective Kien 2.”

Producer Dinh Ngoc Diep said the team had spent considerable time and effort developing the Detective Kien franchise.

“We have pursued Detective Kien for a long time, with a great deal of dedication and thought. Victor doesn’t simply want to tell an engaging story; he wants to create a world with a life of its own, where every setting, costume, color and artistic detail contributes to the storytelling and reveals more about the characters’ psychology and fate,” she said.

“There are details audiences may see for only a few seconds, but behind them are many days and months of preparation,” she added.

Victor Vu takes on a formidable Tet rival

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Director Victor Vu.

Detective Kien 2 will put Victor Vu in direct competition with Tran Thanh’s Em, which began filming just days ago.

Tran Thanh, however, is keeping almost everything about his 2027 Tet project under wraps. Neither its genre and storyline nor its cast has been revealed, adding to the curiosity surrounding the film.

Speaking about the start of production, Tran Thanh said he felt unusually calm about the new project.

“Normally, I get very nervous whenever I begin shooting a new project, but today I feel peaceful, as though this was something that was always meant to happen,” he said.

“I had actually been preparing another story, but I was so deeply moved by the story of Em that I decided to save the other project for a more appropriate time. I believe in the universe arranging things. What happens most naturally will touch audiences most deeply,” he added.

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Tran Thanh at the launch ceremony for his 2027 Lunar New Year film.

With the drawing power Tran Thanh has demonstrated over the past four Tet seasons, Em is likely to be a formidable competitor for any film opening during the holiday.

His movies have consistently ranked among the biggest performers of Vietnam’s Lunar New Year box office.

According to Box Office Vietnam, Tran Thanh’s four Tet releases - Mai (US$21.2 million), Tho oi! (US$17.3 million), The House of No Man (US$17.7 million) and The 4 Rascals (US$12.8 million) - have generated combined theatrical revenue of nearly US$69 million.

That figure does not include revenue from overseas releases or digital platforms.

With Victor Vu returning to the Tet season with a sequel to a proven box-office hit and Tran Thanh seeking to extend an extraordinary run of commercial success, Vietnam’s 2027 Lunar New Year movie race is already shaping up to be a closely watched contest.

My Anh