A poster for Vietnamese movie "The Ancestral Home" / Courtesy of CJ ENM By Baek Byung-yeul CJ ENM's investment in the Vietnamese film market produced impressive results as a film the Korean entertainment giant backed, produced and distributed climbed to seventh place in Vietnam’s all-time box office rankings, the company said Thursday. "The Ancestral Home," which premiered Feb. 21, was a project in CJ ENM's Vietnamese unit, CJ HK Entertainment. The company was involved in the film from its initial funding and production stages through to its distribution and marketing efforts, all specifically tailored for the Vietnamese market. The movie, a horror drama about family, legacy, ghosts and a hidden conspiracy, garnered 2.58 million viewers as of March 5 to enter the top 10 highest-grossing films in Vietnam and moved up to the seventh position on March 8, with a total of 2.75 million viewers. The film exceeded 3.07 million admissions as of Thursday, the company said. Writer-director-actor Huynh Lap’s deep understanding of local culture and audience preferences is considered a crucial factor in the film's success. Huynh is a notable figure in Vietnam's entertainment industry and is known for his work as both an actor and director. “'The Ancestral Home' is a rare example of a film that became one of the biggest box office hits though it was released in late February, the non-peak season,” Kim Hyun-woo, head of CJ HK Entertainment, said. “This proves that well-crafted content can be chosen by audiences at any time of year. This is the result of our constant efforts to come up with stories that can be shared with Vietnamese audiences.” He also emphasized the importance of collaboration with local creatives. “Huynh Lap is a creator who understands and expresses local sentiment exceptionally well," he said. With the film's success, CJ HK Entertainment has further cemented its status as a leading studio in the Vietnamese film industry. The company has already achieved remarkable results there, with the successes of "Mai" (2024) and "The House of No Man" (2023), which became the highest and second-highest grossing Vietnamese films of all time, respectively.
