Third time luckier as Vietnam showbiz star Tran Thanh scores another blockbuster

“MAI”, the third and latest film produced and directed by Vietnamese showbiz star Tran Thanh, has bettered his previous successes and marked several milestones since its Lunar New Year premiere.

It has reached the Vietnam box office revenue milestone of VND300 billion ($12.24 million) in the shortest time, nine days.

His previous films, “The house with no man” (Vietnamese title: Nha ba Nu) and “Dad, I’m sorry” (Vietnamese title: Bo gia), took 11 and 16 days to hit the same revenue threshold, respectively.

With the three movies under his belt, Tran Thanh has become the first director to surpass combined revenues of VND1 trillion ($40.8 million) in Vietnam.

As of February 21 morning, “MAI” had posted revenues of VND387 billion ($15.8 million), according to Box Office Vietnam, data collector of movies screened in the country.

On Valentine’s Day (February 14) alone, the movie recorded revenues of VND43 billion ($1.75 million) with an occupancy rate of 72%, unprecedented in Vietnam’s cinema history.

“MAI” attracted 225,000 moviegoers on the first day, February 10, grossing VND23.3 billion ($950,000).

The string of blockbusters has made Tran Thanh, 37, one of the most popular celebrities in Vietnam, gaining fame in the roles of actor, director and MC. He is also one of the most influential and richest artists in the country, with 18 million Facebook followers.

Corporate performance

His films’ success has meant that the Tran Thanh Town Company, which he founded in 2020, has essayed impressive performances since.

While its revenue and profit figures for 2023 have not been made available yet, it earned net profits of VND114.5 billion ($4.67 million) in 2021, far higher than the VND1.6 billion in 2020.

The profit boost was attributed to “Dad, I’m sorry” (Vietnamese title: Bo gia, which literally means Old father), produced and starred by Tran Thanh. The movie grossed VND427 billion ($17.4 million) in revenue.

Meanwhile, “The house with no man” has fetched box office revenues of VND475 billion ($19.37 million) so far.

The company, however, saw its net profit plunge 78.4% year-on-year to VND24.7 billion in 2022 when Tran Thanh did not launch any new movies. Its net revenue was down 73% year-on-year to VND37 billion ($1.51 million).

The firm had total assets of VND66 billion ($2.7 million) by end-2022, down 60.2% from a year earlier. Its owner’s equity fell 75% year-on-year to VND31.2 billion, while its charter capital remained unchanged at VND8 billion.

Korean player behind the scenes

Tran Thanh’s success in the movie industry has been partly attributed to CJ HK Entertainment, a notable player in film production, distribution and marketing in Vietnam.

CJ HK Entertainment Co. made its Vietnam debut in 2012 as an CJ ENM representative office in Ho Chi Minh City, distributing Korean movies. In January 2015, the representative office officially became CJ ENM Vietnam Co., Ltd.

The same year, CJ ENM Vietnam surpassed its own previous box office record with the movie “Sweet 20” (Vietnamese title: Em la ba noi cua anh), its first project co-produced with Hoan Khue Film Production Joint Stock Company (HKFilm).

In 2017, CJ ENM Vietnam became CJ HK Entertainment – a joint firm between CJ ENM Vietnam and HKFilm. Since then, CJ HK Entertainment has distributed films from all over the world, besides the ones produced by CJ ENM Korean.

2023 marked a booming year for CJ HK Entertainment when “The house with no man” became the highest-grossing movie of all time with VND475 billion ($19.38 million), the firm said on its website.

The latest available data shows that CJ HK Entertainment had a charter capital of VND45 billion ($1.84 million) as of June 2018, with HKFilm having a 49.1% stake and Korea-invested CH Holdings Limited holding the remaining 50.9%.