'Bo Gia' becomes first Vietnamese film to rake in VND200 bln on domestic circuit

This is the first Vietnamese movie to earn that much domestically, only nine days after its premiere on March 5, according to distributor Galaxy.

Previously, "Hai Phuong" (Furie), an action flick produced by Ngo Thanh Van, also made VND200 billion after appearing on both domestic and international screens.

"Bo Gia" has shattered the local box office record of "Cua Lai Vo Bau" (Win My Baby Back), which earned VND192 billion ($8.34 million) in 2019.

On March 13, it made VND31 billion ($1.43 billion) with more than 4,000 shows nationwide.

The film adaptation of a hit web drama directed by Vu Ngoc Dang stars comedian and TV host Tran Thanh. The web drama version, released on YouTube in early 2020, was the most viewed in Vietnam with more than 90 million hits for its five episodes.

It tells the story of Sang, an old motorbike-taxi driver who lives in a low-income neighborhood in downtown Saigon, who struggles to earn enough money to care for his family.

It was planned to hit domestic screens during the Lunar New Year holidays, but was postponed by the recent Covid-19 outbreak.

Tran Thanh said: "Being loved by the audience means eternal happiness to me."

Movie experts said the drama would break several more records in future since it had only been shown nationwide for the past four days, following a week of sneak peaks.

"Bo Gia" has garnered mixed reviews, with some audiences calling the plot too predictable and berating the abundant dialogue.

Thanh said he would have made his film shorter if he had a chance, as 128 minutes was quite long.

Last week, the drama set a record for box office collections at VND100 billion ($4.3 million) in four days after release, beating the previous record of six days held by "Gai Gia Lam Chieu 3" (The Last Egg 3) of 2020, according to independent tracking company Box Office Vietnam.