Án mạng karaoke, the first feature from director Hoàng Lê, had taken nearly 18 billion dong from several days of preview screenings by the morning of 24 October and was leading Vietnam's daily box office, Tuổi Trẻ reported. Its official nationwide release is on 30 October. The film was originally slated to open on 2 October.

US-based distributor 3388 Films will release the murder mystery in the United States, Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Norway, Australia and New Zealand over Halloween, Variety reported, as cited by Tuổi Trẻ. Tuổi Trẻ, citing Variety, said that makes it the first Vietnamese film to open on the same weekend across four continents: North America, Europe, Australia and Asia.

The story and the cast

The film follows a group of people on a so-called healing retreat to a remote mountain. There Mrs Thủy, whose boundless passion for karaoke is matched only by how much her singing grates on everyone around her, is brutally killed with a microphone jammed into her mouth. The trip turns into a tense psychological chase in which every character becomes a suspect and hidden motives gradually come to light.

The cast includes Đại Nghĩa, Vân Dung, Đoàn Thiên Ân, Thanh Sơn, Quỳnh Lý, Tạ Lâm, Trịnh Thảo, Phương Dung and child actor Uy Nhân.

A new kind of role for Vân Dung

Vân Dung plays Mrs Thủy, a departure from the comic, sharp-tongued characters audiences know her for. A love scene between her and Thanh Sơn in the trailer stirred reactions online. According to Tuổi Trẻ, the actress, now in her 50s, said she felt pressure and embarrassment shooting a romantic scene for the first time, opposite a co-star 16 years her junior, and has not dared to rewatch the clips circulating on social media.

At the film's premiere in Hanoi on the evening of 23 October, her son, actor Long Vũ, said it was the first time he had seen that side of his mother on screen. Watching the moment wiped his mind blank and raised goosebumps on the back of his neck, he said, which showed how fully she had inhabited the role.

Why it matters for Vietnamese cinema

According to Variety, as cited by Tuổi Trẻ, 3388 Films also holds exclusive international distribution rights for North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, Japan and Taiwan. Thien A. Pham, representing 3388 Films, called the alignment of the international release with the official domestic release a breakthrough. He said the company had pushed for this for many years, believing that when the domestic and international dates match, a film gains far stronger momentum abroad.

For audiences, the schedule means cinemagoers in those eight countries can see the film on the same weekend as viewers in Vietnam. For Vietnamese filmmakers, it sets a precedent for taking a local title to international markets at the same time as its home release.

What's next

  • 30 October: nationwide release in Vietnamese cinemas.
  • Halloween: 3388 Films' release in the US, Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Norway, Australia and New Zealand, per Variety as cited by Tuổi Trẻ.

Takings after the official opening will show whether the film can hold the lead it built in previews. For the box-office picture in recent weeks, see Trại buôn người holds box-office lead as Quỷ ăn tạng 4 opens second.