On May 2, Lat Mat 7: Mot Dieu Uoc earned over 200 billion VND. The film grossed 202.4 billion VND after the extended holiday from April 30 to May 1, which lasted for 5 days, according to Box Office Vietnam.
Statistics released on that day showed that the seventh installment of Lat Mat is currently at 9.9 billion VND. The film sold 130,931 tickets over 4,378 screenings. During the 5-day period, the number of screenings for the work remained steady at around 4,000 to nearly 5,000 per day.
With revenue exceeding 200 billion VND after the holiday, Ly Hai becomes the second filmmaker to surpass the 1,000 billion VND mark in Vietnam’s film industry. Lat Mat is also recognized as the highest-grossing film series in Vietnamese cinema history.
According to reports, the revenue of the Lat Mat series has steadily increased with each film. The first installment, Lat Mat 1, grossed 72 billion VND, followed by Lat Mat 2: Phim Truong, which reached 80 billion VND, and then Ba Chang Khuyet, which achieved over 85 billion VND.
In 2019, Ly Hai released Lat Mat 4: Nha Co Khach. This film grossed over 120 billion VND despite being released alongside the blockbuster Avengers: Endgame. After that, the fifth installment titled Lat Mat: 48h earned around 150 billion VND.
The year 2023 is viewed as a breakthrough year for Ly Hai when Lat Mat 6: Tam Ve Dinh Menh achieved over 300 billion VND in revenue. This year, the Lat Mat brand continues to “thrive” with over 200 billion VND in revenue during the holiday from April 30 to May 1, after 5 days of screenings, pushing Ly Hai’s total earnings over 1,000 billion VND.
Previously, Tran Thanh was the first Vietnamese filmmaker to achieve revenue exceeding 1,000 billion VND with Bo Gia (427 billion VND), Nha Ba Nu (475 billion VND), and Mai (over 520 billion VND).
According to a share from film industry analyst Nguyen Phong Viet with Tien Phong, the current Vietnamese film market is largely a competition between Tran Thanh and Ly Hai.
“In the next 2-3 years, the only person who could compete with Tran Thanh is Ly Hai, but clearly, they have not yet reached the same level in the overall competition, and it is unlikely to happen. Currently, the Vietnamese film market only has Tran Thanh and Ly Hai, along with some remaining contributors,” noted industry expert Nguyen Phong Viet.
