In the first three weeks since its release on December 18, 2009, Vietnamese martial arts actioner CLASH has earned 11.5 billion dong (US$620,000), a record for a local production released during the holiday season.
The film, which re-teams THE REBEL stars and real-life couple Johnny Tri Nguyen and Veronica Ngo, opened against Hollywood heavyweights AVATAR, ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS and SHERLOCK HOLMES and was not expected to perform as well as it did.
Vietnam apparently does not traditionally have a Christmas market for its own homegrown films which makes the success of CLASH all the more encouraging for Vietnam’s growing film industry.
“The movie is still attracting audiences. They have to buy tickets at least one week in advance and this situation may continue further. The goal of $1 million will surely be fulfilled,” said a representative of MegaStar in HCM City.
Directed by Le Thanh Son, CLASH concerns Trinh (Ngo), a mercenary forced to complete a series of missions in order to save her kidnapped daughter. She enlists the aid of several other mercenaries including Quan (Nguyen), a man she becomes romantically involved with but soon discovers he has his own agenda.
The film’s action sequences are choreographed by Nguyen, a veteran martial arts actor and Hollywood stuntman who had his first big international break when he fought Tony Jaa onscreen in TOM YUM GOONG (aka THE PROTECTOR) back in 2005. This led to his first starring role in THE REBEL.
Released in 2007, THE REBEL became Vietnam’s biggest box office earner in history. It was also one of the country’s biggest film exports with distribution in multiple territories including the U.S. where it was released on DVD by Dragon Dynasty in 2008.
Source: Vietnam Net
Related Topics:Clash (2009) • Johnny Tri Nguyen • Veronica Ngo
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