Domestic cinema market lucrative in big names eyes

Domestic cinema market lucrative in big names eyes

With the presence of such names as Warner Bros, Envoy Media Partners, and Megastar, the domestic cinema market has been developing steadily and still has lots of untapped potentials, said cinema investors.

After arriving in HCM City, Warner Bros, for instance, worked with local entertainment company Thien Ngan to build two cinema complexes. There hasnt been any new move from the American company since then, though.

And at present, Megastar is the country biggest cinema builder, opening new œcineplex after new œcineplex nationwide. But those like Warner Bros, which are a little behind Megastar, are by no means done with the Vietnamese market, which, according to them, has much room to grow.

œVietnamese people have time for entertainment, but supply is yet to be able to meet public demand, said Warner Bros representative. Indeed, Vietnam has the population of 83 million while the total number of cinemas is merely 65.

And of these, only 20 are considered to meet standards. So the general direction such companies like Warner Bros, Thien Ngan and Megastar are following is to build as many high-tech cinemas and screening rooms as the market demands and wait to reap profits, though the start may be a little bit difficult.

Thien Ngan vice director, Nguyen Minh Ngoc, for instance, said, œWe are following the international trend, which means that each cinema complex has from 5 to 7 screening rooms so that whenever they come, audiences will have many films and services to choose from.

And she said that not only in Hanoi and HCM City, but Thien Ngan would also build more cinemas in other parts of the country, though its screening rooms arent always filled with audiences. As for the pervasive problem of piracy, cinema investors admit that it is their greatest challenge.

But Warner Bros said the cinema-going culture, however, could be developed eventually since the Vietnamese public is earning more and loves to watch movies. Regarding local laws such as the recently enacted one which requires cinemas nationwide to allot at least 20 % of their time to screen home-made movies, cinema builders arent very worried.

Megastar Vice Director Tran Khai Hoang, for instance, said Megastar supported this regulation though it often meant that it screened Vietnamese movies for only 1 or 2 viewers.