Vietnamese music documentaries are just 'added spice'?

Vietnamese-made music documentaries are increasingly being released to theaters, but their revenue is still quite modest compared to other genres.

In early 2025, two music documentaries about two famous shows were released to the audience.

Rain of Fire - documentary about Brother Overcoming Thousands of Challenges - released on the occasion of the show's 1 year on air

PHOTO: Manufacturer

Say Hi Brother: The Villain Who Creates the Hero was released in late February 2025, and is among the highest-grossing music documentaries at the Vietnamese box office with 15.4 billion VND. The film is nearly 2 hours long, recording 4 concert nights of 30 "brothers", combining stage performances and behind-the-scenes rehearsals. In mid-May, Rain of Fire - a documentary about the reality TV show "Brother Overcoming a Thousand Challenges" - directed by Dinh Ha Uyen Thu, attracted the attention of young audiences. According to Box Office Vietnam , the film earned more than 11.9 billion VND.

Son Tung M-TP is considered the artist who initiated the music documentary genre in Vietnam when he released the film Sky Tour Movie in June 2020, marking the singer's performances in Hanoi , Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City. The film was directed by Nguyen Quang Dung, made with high-quality filming techniques and vivid sound. The film achieved a total box office revenue of more than 11 billion VND after 10 days in theaters, according to data from Box Office Vietnam (a website that aggregates and analyzes box office revenue).

Scene from the documentary Say Hi Brother: The Villain Creates the Hero

Photo: Manufacturer

After Son Tung M-TP, other artists have continuously released music documentaries in which they are the main characters. Also in 2020, Ho Ngoc Ha released Then One Day Ha Talks About Love . In 2023, Ha Anh Tuan introduced the music documentary Nhung Tuoc Thuong Healed - The Healed Wounds . In April 2023, My Tam released the documentary Tri Am the Movie: Nguoi Giu Thoi Gian , commemorating 20 years of singing. The film was rated as having a good script, a plot, and creating emotions for viewers. The film left theaters after 9 days, earning 12 billion VND.

However, not all music documentaries have achieved good revenue. Vietnamese Concert Film: We are Vietnamese by Hoang Thuy Linh premiered in March 2025. After about a week, the crew announced that the film would be withdrawn from theaters because its revenue was too modest, only at 200 million VND. Before that, Color of Withered Grass, about the life of musician Tran Tien, premiered in theaters at the end of 2020, earning more than 87 million VND.

Mr. Nguyen Hoang Hai, Content Director of CGV Vietnam, commented: "In reality, the revenue of music documentaries produced in Vietnam is still quite modest compared to popular cinema genres. In my opinion, the main reason comes from the specific content of this film genre: it often serves a certain audience, mainly fans of the artist. This is not a mass audience, so the ability to expand access is limited. Besides, the emotional factor and atmosphere when enjoying also play a very important role. If the viewer is not a fan of the artist, they may not fully feel the value of the music or the collective connection in the theater, thereby affecting the overall experience. The reputation of the artist is often clearly differentiated, which also contributes to the uneven number of viewers."

According to film critic Nguyen Phong Viet, music documentaries by artists are generally made to serve their own fans. Therefore, this type of film is very limited in terms of screening times as well as the level of investment in promotion compared to a traditional theatrical film. In addition, from the artist or project producer's side, from the beginning, music documentaries are not outside the purpose of serving the artist's personal brand or a specific tour or program... Therefore, in terms of revenue, they do not set high goals because the film is only a part of the overall campaign of the artist or tour.

According to journalist Phong Viet, in addition to the added value in terms of revenue, music documentaries can also be considered as added value for fans to have a true behind-the-scenes look, to understand more about the artists... "In the future, music documentaries will still appear in Vietnam regularly, still being a unique spice for the cinema market," Phong Viet commented.

Director Nguyen Quang Dung said that in the past, no one thought that music documentaries would generate revenue. This type of film in Vietnam is currently only a "revenue" product after a project, so according to him, having more revenue is already very good.

"A project with a music film product is a good thing, leading to DVD releases, music downloads, sales of costumes, toys, souvenirs... All of which are to maximize profits for the artist because performing on stage is only witnessed by the audience there, while showing in theaters will expand the market further. Having supported Son Tung M-TP in making the film Sky Tour Movie, I think the film's revenue of tens of billions of VND is very good. Artists nowadays work very hard to make a profit, so adding a music documentary is very good. The cost of making a music film is low because it is already filmed when organizing the show and takes advantage of the story behind the stage," said director Nguyen Quang Dung.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/phim-tai-lieu-am-nhac-viet-chi-la-gia-vi-cong-them-185250623225128357.htm