While China’s theatrical market is losing young audiences, Vietnam is emerging as a breakthrough region for pan-Asian content, according to industry executives who spoke at the JAFF Market.
Eric Lin, general manager of international content at Alibaba’s Damai Entertainment, said Chinese audiences under the age of 24 now account for only 15% of total movie audiences, down from 38% before the pandemic. “We’ll lose half of that in five to six years,” Lin said, noting that its core frequent audience has shifted to the 30- to 49-year-old age group. That year, “Ne Zha 2” grossed more than $2 billion, but the market is struggling to compete with short-form vertical content, also known as microdramas, to retain young audiences.
Vietnam has established itself as an important region for Asian films, and Phuong Duong, business director of Mockingbird Pictures, presented market data showing that Vietnamese title Red Rain earned more than $27 million, making it the region’s highest-grossing film of all time.
The panel discussion, moderated by JAFF Market Advisor Lorna Tee and held in partnership with Indonesian producers’ association APROFI, was attended by Duong, Lin, Moxter Film CEO Nelson Mok, and Toei’s International Production Manager Shiori Takada. Indonesia’s theatrical market has proven its strength, with local films capturing over 65% of the box office share.
Mok, who was responsible for the company’s overseas sales of “How to Make a Million Before Grandma Dies” and the Taiwanese version of “More Than Blue,” emphasized the company’s distribution strategy focused on theaters. “The similarity between these two movies is that when we first brought it to market, no one wanted it,” Mok revealed. “Everyone rejected the film because it just didn’t fit into what the distributors thought of as a commercial film.”
Takada pointed out that Japan’s domestic market faces challenges in that animation accounts for 80-90% of the content, leaving limited space for live-action films. Toei will launch an international production division in 2023, targeting partnerships in Southeast Asia with budgets ranging from $1 million to $2.5 million. Several panelists emphasized the importance of production quality in attracting international buyers.
