Việt Nam movie audiences lap up musicals

“Sky Tour” about singer Sơn Tùng M-TP recently took the film market by storm. Photo courtesy of Sơn Tùng M-TP

HCM CITY Musicals and music documentaries have shown the potential to succeed at the box office in Việt Nam.

Sky Tour about singer Sơn Tùng M-TP recently took the film market by storm though it was conceivably owed to his star value more than anything else. 

In the first three days after release it collected more than VNĐ5 billion (US$215,000), the best opening by a music documentary, according to Box Office Việt Nam.

While many movie theatres are struggling to attract audiences back after their enforced closure due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Sky Tour sold 10,000 tickets in the first two days.

Sơn Tùng M-TP made surprise appearances at some screenings and interacted with his fans. 

The documentary, which also marked his comeback after a quiet year, featured footages from his live shows and revealed aspects of his personal life not known before.

Earlier another singer, Hà Anh Tuấn, had produced a musical, Truyện ngắn and released it in cinemas.

It is made around five songs, Có chàng trai viết lên cây, Xuân thì, Thương em, Cô gái và cây dương cầm, and An.

Tuấn was able to deliver, many music lovers said, adding that they found it interesting to pay for cinema tickets to see the five songs instead of buying an album.

Sky Tour and Truyện ngắn mostly attracted the two singers’ fans. 

Experts reckoned that while these films are based on the stars’ personal attraction rather than the quality of music, they have managed to acquaint Vietnamese audiences with the genre.

Audiences are next looking forward to “Em và Trịnh, a documentary about revered musician Trịnh Công Sơn.

It is scheduled to open on April 1 next year, Sơn’s 20th death anniversary.

Em và Trịnh is directed by Phan Gia Nhật Linh and focuses on Sơn’s romantic attachments and the musical inspirations that made him compose his timeless masterpieces.

The production team spent a whole year researching and interviewing the musician’s family and friends.

Musicals and music documentaries have recently seen a resurgence in the European and US film markets. VNS