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By Le Chou

Her two most recent films achieved a combined $40M at the Vietnam box office. No other producer comes close at the local box office. To put into context, a film in Vietnam is deemed a blockbuster if it grosses $4M (100 billion Vnd). Yet, her name has gone largely unnoticed.

In 2024, Nguyen Huu Tuong Vi cemented herself as one of the top producers in Vietnam with the monumental success of “Mai”, the highest grossing Vietnamese film of all time from director Tran Thanh. To date, the film has amassed $23M+ at the global box office; $21M in Vietnam via Cj Hk Entertainment and $2M+ in North America and Europe via 3388 Films.

But back when she was trying to break into the industry, it wasn't producing what she had in mind. In 2007, Tuong Vi participated in a screenwriting course funded by the Ford Foundation and continued this writing path...

Exclusive: After smashing records in Vietnam, Tran Thanh’s hit romance drama Mai has now set a new milestone for an opening weekend at the international box office, becoming the first Vietnamese title to score a $1M debut outside the home market.

Beginning March 22, specialty distributor 3388 Films released the Phuong Anh Dao/Tuan Tran-starrer in nearly 200 theaters in nine countries throughout North America and Europe – marking the widest same-day theatrical release ever for a Vietnam film across the two continents.

From 154 theaters in North America, Mai grossed $917K, and added another $133K from 40 sites in the UK, France, Germany, Norway, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland. This takes the global gross to over $22M. In Vietnam, it is the highest grossing film of all time.

This is the third film from Tran Thanh whose Dad, I’m Sorry was also released by 3388, finaling at $1.3M in the U.S.

Tran Thanh is a popular Vietnamese TV-show host, actor and, since recently, filmmaker who has found a formula that works, at least from a financial point of view, with the success of his debut “Bo Gia”. The recipe was simple: a family-themed comedy-drama with slight romantic overtones was released in the less-busy winter period and earned over 17 million dollars, mostly domestically and in the nearby territories. With his newest film, and his first solo directorial effort, “The House with No Man”, he upgraded the formula by amplifying the romantic angle and timing the release in the time of the Tet holiday (the fact that it is also close to the Valentine’s Day also helps), and it resulted in the income of 18 million dollars so far, before even opening outside Vietnam.

815 pictures is going to release Nha Ba Nu (The House with No Man) in North American in March 3rd.