[THE INVESTOR] Entertainment units of South Korean conglomerates are wielding substantial power in the Vietnamese movie industry, dominating the theater and distribution with a two-third market share.

CJ Group’s CGV owns 34 cinemas with 223 screens as of July 26, making it the top movie theater chain in the Southeast Asian country. Its revenue in the first half of this year jumped 35 percent to 50.4 billion won (US$44.44 million) with 7.8 billion won operating profit, a 44 percent increase on-year. Both figures are above market forecasts.

Lotte Group’s Lotte Cinema has 26 movie theaters with 115 screens, and its first-half sales hiked 29.9 percent while net profit soared 87.6 percent. 

The two cinema chains have aggressively targeted major cities including Ho Chi Min and Hanoi, opening a combined 50 screens in the first half alone, enlarging their market share up to 65 percent of Vietnam’s entire screens.

In addition to offering a pleasant setting, Korean movie complexes attracted moviegoers with special-themed theaters that range from letting the viewers have a 4-D experience to watching movies in bed-like seats.

CJ CGV jumped in the distribution market as well, taking 70 percent market share in the first half of this year. It not only won exclusive distribution rights from Hollywood’s major companies such as Universal, Paramount and Disney, but also topped the distribution rate for local movies, which account for 35 percent of the Vietnamese movie industry.

Vietnam’s movie industry in H1 is estimated to be US$75 million, up 25 percent from the same period last year, and has grown at an average of 20 percent every year. While the country’s 93 million population only went to an average of 0.3 movies last year, there is a large growth potential.

“We will concentrate on nurturing the movie market in Vietnam,” said Kwak Dong-won, head of CJ CGV’s Vietnam operation, adding that it will “increase the number of movie theaters and expand direct investment in local moviemaking.”

By Hwang You-mee (glamazon@heraldcorp.com)