Screen Daily
by Silvia Wong
Published Dec 11, 2023
Vietnamese period film The Last Wife has passed the vnd100 billion mark at the local box office, making it the sixth film to reach this milestone this year. It is equivalent to approximately $4m.
Directed by US-born Vietnamese filmmaker Victor Vu, the film has been dominating the Vietnamese box office since its opening on November 3. It crossed the $4.09m (vnd100bn) mark on December 8 for distributor Lotte Entertainment.
It also opened in North America through 3388 Films and Australia through VeOnline & Film Viet Tai Uc on December 8.
The film is adapted from Hong Thai’s novel ’The Lake of Vengeance’ and is about a woman’s searing desire to break free of her social fate in the feudal period of 19th century Vietnam. The protagonist is the youngest and last wife of the district governor. While she fails to produce an heir, a chance meeting with her childhood love only complicates the events further.
The cast includes Kaity Nguyen, who is known as the Gen Z box office queen for hit films such as Blood Moon Party and Jailbait, and Thuan Nguyen from Naked Truth and Timothy Linh Bui’s latest film Daydreamers, which opened on December 8 in Vietnam.
The Last Wife is produced by Lotte Entertainment, TFilm Entertainment and November Films and marks the 17th film of Vu, who is one of the most prolific Vietnamese directors with 20 years’ experience. Also among his highest grossing local films in Vietnam are Vengeful Heart, Yellow Flowers On The Green Grass and Dreamy Eyes. The last two films were Vietnam’s previous submissions to the Oscars.
Vietnamese films have experienced a dynamic growth in the first half of 2023 during which four films, all local, surpassed the vnd100bn mark including mega-hits Tran Thanh’s comedy drama The House Of No Man (approximately $19.3m/vnd458bn) and Ly Hai’s action comedy Face Off 6: The Ticket Of Destiny (approximately $11.5m/vnd272bn).
After a quiet summer season, the Vietnamese box office started to regain its momentum with Nguyen Quang Dung’s Song Of The South and now The Last Wife.
