EXCLUSIVE: South Korea’s Lotte Leisure has added the first-ever Vietnamese titles to its gross sales slate, led by Le-Van Kiet’s Busan choice Bride Of The Covenant.
The movie funding, distribution, manufacturing and worldwide gross sales agency has begun discussions with patrons on the Asian Contents & Movie Market (ACFM) on the options, which additionally contains drama Carry Me Up, additionally directed by Kiet, and Minh Beta’s household comedy The Scent Of Pho.
Hana Choi, director of worldwide enterprise at Lotte Leisure, mentioned the transfer was spurred on following final yr’s efficiency of Vietnamese horror Ma Da – a title launched by Lotte’s Vietnam enterprise.
Directed by Nguyen Huu Hoang, the movie turned a smash hit, taking $5.1m (VND126bn) and promoting 1.68 million tickets, making it the third highest-grossing native movie of 2024 and the second largest native horror of all time in Vietnam. It additionally turned the most important Vietnamese movie in Taiwan, taking $350,000.
Recognising the potential, Lotte Leisure will now construct a gross sales portfolio from the nation, beginning with one other notable horror characteristic.
Bride Of The Covenant is the primary Vietnamese characteristic ever chosen for the Midnight Ardour strand of Busan Worldwide Movie Pageant. Set within the 19th century, it follows a younger bride who’s married right into a rich household. However opposite to her expectations of an expensive life, she quickly discovers a darkish, supernatural reality about her husband’s household and the secrets and techniques behind their wealth.
Produced by Orange Movies, the forged is led by Tranh My, Nsut Trung Anh, Huu Vi and Lanh Thanh. Director Kiet has helmed a number of native box-office hits and is among the many few Vietnamese filmmakers to safe alternatives in Hollywood. His works embrace Mild, hit motion movie Furie, The Princess and The Requin. The latter, launched in 2022, was a shark assault thriller led by US actress Alicia Silverstone.
Additionally within the pipeline from Kiet is Carry Me Up, a drama about two siblings who’re “pushed into conflicts that take a look at their bond and, at occasions, their lives”. Starring Le Khanh and Thuan Nguyen, it’s produced by Khang Media and is about for a neighborhood launch in October.
The preliminary Vietnamese titles on Lotte Leisure’s slate is rounded out by The Scent Of Pho, directed by Minh Beta. It follows a revered pho grasp in Hanoi who is set to move down his secret recipe to his solely grandson. However when his daughter-in-law forbids him from seeing the boy, he hatches a determined plan that backfires. Produced by Beta Group, it stars Xuan Hinh, Tru Trang, Bao Nam and Thanh Thanh Hien.
Trying forward, Lotte Leisure plans so as to add an additional seven titles from Vietnam to its gross sales slate subsequent yr and can take into account co-production, whereas additionally trying to forge further partnerships in Southeast Asia, additional increasing its enterprise past South Korea.
