Red Rain: Thanks to 3 right things, it escaped the fate of a 'film for ancestors', about to reach the 300 billion mark

"Red Rain" is a war film invested and produced by a state-owned film studio, but it has shown great differences in script, character development and distribution. With box office achievements approaching the 300 billion mark, what is the key factor that created this record?

As of the afternoon of August 30, after more than a week in theaters, the movie "Red Rain" produced by the People's Army Cinema had a revenue of nearly 275 billion VND, and is expected to reach 300 billion VND in the next few days.

"Red Rain" is a war-themed movie that is breaking all box office records and breaking many limits of this genre of film up to now.

The difference

Normally, on the occasion of each major national holiday, a war or historical film project will be planned and ordered with a certain budget for state film studios to produce.

This genre of film is called by many names such as "ceremonial films", "warehouse films", "ancestorage films"... Most of these projects are only released in small, limited quantities at state-owned cinemas (such as the National Cinema Center) for about a week and then stored. The films do not sell tickets, and are criticized by audiences for their sketchy, dry scripts and heavy propaganda.

"Living with History" once failed to sell a single ticket for a single screening. "Dien Bien Memories", despite being invested with a record budget at that time, was still criticized for its scale and outdated script. Most recently, in 2023, the film "Dao, Pho and Piano" caused endless controversy over its production and distribution methods, investment budget, and outdated storytelling, sketchy effects, and poor quality.

Many times, the war-historical film genre has been caught in a storm of controversy, even reaching a deadlock, when filmmakers "complain" about tight budgets, strict script censorship, and audiences criticize filmmakers for not being able to escape the beaten path.

After the glorious heyday of revolutionary films, from the late 1990s of the last century until now, Vietnamese cinema owes a great debt to the nation's history.

The year 2025 is considered a major turning point for war films, when the private sector participated in the production of "Tunnels: Sun in the Dark", and for the first time "Red Rain" invested by a state-owned film studio was commercially released.

"Red Rain" makes a difference from the investment budget to the script and character development. It is this difference that has helped "Red Rain" be spread by the audience, calling each other to watch, giving many compliments, exclamations... The "Red Rain" effect is flooding forums and social networks.

After more than a week in theaters, the film is approaching 300 billion VND in revenue. This is unprecedented for a Vietnamese war film.

Break the limits

"Red Rain" broke many boundaries to become the most notable war film in the past two decades. Director - Meritorious Artist Dang Thai Huyen used the word "devotion" to talk about the contribution and investment of effort, from material wealth to physical strength of the "Red Rain" crew.

Actress Thuy Ha said: "If it weren't for Army Cinema, perhaps it would be difficult for any production unit to make a work like Red Rain."

Thanks to the large mobilization of military forces, "Red Rain" has outstanding authenticity in weapons, equipment, battle formation and close combat, and professionalism in building military discipline.

The biggest plus point of "Red Rain" is its authenticity and symbolic images.

The director shows meticulous calculation, from the way he uses a cast of lesser-known actors to bring vivid, intimate emotions, as if they had just stepped out of a military unit, not silver screen superstars playing roles.

The grand, beautifully shot scenes, complex and multi-dimensional arrangements and staging from many sides, allow the audience to feel the scale of a battle and imagine how to "deploy troops" on the battlefield during actual combat.

"Red Rain" does many things that previous war films have not been able to do, even though it received great support from the military in terms of equipment and weapons.

In which, the way the story line is built, the fate of different people, entering the war from two sides - is considered the biggest breakthrough, breaking the limit of "Red Rain".

Previously, the image of soldiers on the other side of the battle line was often portrayed according to a common formula: cruel, heartless, despicable... even the appearance had to exude ugliness and evil. In "Red Rain", a new perspective is shown, more humane, more tolerant.

Red Rain: Making a mark in Quang Tri Citadel, a worthy successor to war films Bảo Yến21:35:49 30/08/2025The People's Army Cinema will organize a free screening of the film Red Rain at Quang Tri Citadel and cinemas to pay tribute to the heroic martyrs and thank the people for lending the film crew land to make a film set.