VND 5 trillion in Japanese capital propels a new entrant, making Viet Nam’s cinema market more competitive than ever

Viet Nam’s cinema market—already highly competitive and dominated by major foreign players—is becoming even more intense with the unexpected entry of a Japanese conglomerate. The arrival of newcomer Aeon Beta raises the question of whether the competitive landscape could be fundamentally reshaped.

Mapping Viet Nam’s Cinema Market

Following a period of severe disruption caused by the pandemic, Viet Nam’s cinema market has returned to a growth trajectory, with an increasingly well-defined competitive landscape emerging among both large and smaller cinema chains.

According to available data, by 2025, Viet Nam’s cinema market had 192 cinema complexes, an increase of eight sites compared with 2024. While the pace of expansion has not been overly aggressive, it underscores the cinema sector’s continued appeal as an entertainment segment in which investors remain willing to deploy capital over the long term.

In terms of market structure, CGV remains the clear market leader, operating 83 cinema complexes, accounting for approximately 44% of total cinemas and screens nationwide. Lotte Cinema ranks second with 45 cinemas, primarily located in provinces outside Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Galaxy Cinema holds the third position with 22 cinemas, including 11 in Ho Chi Minh City and one in Hanoi.

Among domestic cinema brands, BHD Star Cineplex and Cinestar operate on a smaller scale, with 11 and 9 cinemas, respectively, largely concentrated in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

In the smaller-scale segment, Beta Cineplex has largely positioned itself within a niche market, operating 21 cinemas. Notably, the “affordable cinema” chain has accelerated its expansion over the past year, opening three new locations: Beta Lao Cai, Beta Xuan Thuy, and Beta Tay Son (Hanoi).

According to Tien Phong, Mr. Bui Quang Minh (Shark Minh Beta) previously stated that by 2035, the AEON Entertainment – Beta Group joint venture aims to develop 50 cinema complexes, alongside investments in film production, distribution, and additional services such as live broadcasting of major football tournaments and large-scale events.

“We are considering an investment budget of VND 5 trillion, although the actual scale will depend on various factors. Beyond cinema complexes, we also plan to invest in film production and distribution,” Mr. Minh noted.

On 7 December, the first Aeon Beta cinema complex officially opened in Hanoi, marking AEON’s entry into Viet Nam’s cinema exhibition market. AEON Entertainment, a subsidiary of Japan’s AEON Group, is currently the largest cinema chain in Japan, operating 96 cinemas nationwide.

In a market where foreign players already command the majority of cinema market share, the arrival of Aeon Beta adds a new highlight to Viet Nam’s cinema landscape and signals that foreign capital continues to identify growth opportunities in this segment.

Despite ongoing expansion, cinema density per capita in Viet Nam remains low compared with regional peers, suggesting that the market has not yet reached infrastructure saturation—particularly in tier-II and tier-III cities, suburban areas, and emerging commercial and retail hubs.

Vietnamese Blockbusters Dominate the Box Office

According to Vietdata, during the 2020–2022 period, CGV and Lotte Cinema consistently led Viet Nam’s box office revenues, with their operations and audience base heavily concentrated in the country’s two largest cities.

Meanwhile, cinema audiences in provincial areas continued to face limited choices in terms of cinema brands and viewing experience, reflecting an uneven distribution of exhibition infrastructure and market concentration in major urban centers.

With the cinema exhibition market largely driven by major chains, Viet Nam’s box office revenue has entered a phase of robust growth. According to Statista, total revenue of Viet Nam’s cinema industry reached approximately USD 150 million in 2023, a sharp increase from the pre-COVID level of USD 62.3 million in 2019. In 2024, box office revenue continued to set a new record at around VND 4.7 trillion (equivalent to USD 184 million), underscoring the steadily rising demand for theatrical movie-going. Looking ahead, box office revenue is projected to continue expanding strongly through 2029.

Within this landscape, CGV and Lotte Cinema remain the two dominant “revenue engines” of the market. According to the Q4 2024 financial statements of CJ CGV Co., Ltd. (South Korea), revenue generated from the Vietnamese market in 2024 amounted to approximately KRW 207.2 billion, equivalent to around USD 145 million.

These two cinema chains are heavily concentrated in Viet Nam’s two largest cities, operating the largest cinema networks nationwide. With extensive coverage across prime commercial locations, strong control over premium sites, screening schedules, and blockbuster content, CGV and Lotte attract a substantial share of cinema audiences.

Both chains have also invested aggressively in enhancing the viewing experience, including modern screening rooms, advanced visual and sound technologies, and bundled food-and-beverage services. As a result, they have become the preferred exhibition platforms for Hollywood blockbusters as well as the majority of high-expectation Vietnamese films.

On the content side, Viet Nam’s film market has witnessed a surge of high-grossing domestic productions, with multiple titles surpassing the VND 100 billion and even VND 200–300 billion revenue thresholds. As of the end of 2025, several Vietnamese films recorded exceptional box office performance, including Red Rain (VND 714 billion, the highest-grossing Vietnamese film of all time), Aerial Combat (VND 251 billion), and Detective Ant: The Headless Case (VND 248 billion).

These figures indicate that domestic audience demand has reached a sufficient scale to support well-invested theatrical film projects, while gradually reducing reliance on foreign titles as the primary drivers of record-breaking box office performance.

At the same time, a new wave of Vietnamese film releases has also demonstrated notable audience appeal, including titles such as Tracing Long Dien Huong, The Haunted Boarding Room, Finding a Wife for Father, and Ky Nam Tavern.

In the foreign film segment, major global franchises continued to assert their influence in 2025, with Zootopia 2 generating more than VND 41.7 billion in Viet Nam during its opening week at the top of the box office. Other international titles, such as Now You See Me: The Heist, have also continued to draw strong cinema attendance.

Taken together, this landscape suggests that Vietnamese audiences are willing to spend on both domestic and international films. However, box office success increasingly depends on content quality, marketing execution, and word-of-mouth effects. For cinema operators, sustained performance hinges on their ability to identify films with breakout potential, capitalize on peak release windows, and leverage high-demand periods to offset slower seasons.

Opportunities in Viet Nam’s Cinema Race

Against a backdrop of rising box office revenues and an increasing number of high-performing film releases, new entrants such as Aeon Beta are entering the market with notable advantages, while also facing significant competitive challenges.

Revenue growth in Viet Nam’s cinema industry is tangible and is expected to continue offering meaningful headroom for new investors. Cinema density remains relatively low, with only 11 screens per million people (as of 2023), creating opportunities for operators targeting the mid-range and value-for-money segments, where investment costs are more flexible and demand potential is strong—particularly among the 60% of the population living outside major urban centers.

Beyond operating one or two cinema complexes, Aeon Beta plans, together with its partners, to invest approximately USD 134–200 million (around VND 5 trillion) by 2035 to expand its network toward around 50 cinema complexes nationwide. If executed as planned, this expansion would likely lead to a rebalancing of market structure within the mid-tier segment.

From a market perspective, the entry of Aeon Beta signals that Viet Nam’s cinema industry is no longer merely in a phase of market share consolidation among established players, but is transitioning into a phase of selective, structurally driven growth. Cinema chains with strong capital backing, clear strategic positioning, a well-defined target segment, and a willingness to commit to long-term investment are well positioned to reshape the cinema landscape over the next 5–10 years.

According to Cafef.vn

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