Chị chị em em 3 Tops VND100 Billion as Godzilla Takes Vietnam's Box Office Lead

A commercial milestone amid a change at the top

Chị chị em em 3 reached VND105 billion in ticket sales by the end of November 8, according to Box Office Vietnam, crossing a major commercial threshold even as a new Japanese release took first place at Vietnam's cinemas. The drama, restricted to audiences aged 18 and older, passed VND100 billion on November 7 after opening on October 30.

Directed by Nguyễn Hữu Hoàng and produced by Will Vũ, the film stars Ninh Dương Lan Ngọc, Chi Pu, Kỳ Duyên, Steven Nguyễn and Quốc Anh. Its success has come alongside criticism of its intimate scenes, portrayal of an affair and treatment of women, making it a focus of discussion on Threads and TikTok.

Godzilla Minus Zero, directed by Takashi Yamazaki, moved ahead in the daily rankings on November 6 and earned about VND19 billion over its first three days. Chị chị em em 3 continued adding revenue, but with substantially fewer daily screenings than at its launch.

Vietnam's cinemas now offer a useful picture of how film competition works: a controversial domestic production can attract a large audience quickly, while a new arrival can redirect attention and take the most valuable screening slots within days. The next challenge for Chị chị em em 3 is keeping viewers interested as its initial publicity gives way to a crowded release calendar.

How quickly did the film reach VND100 billion?

Box Office Vietnam recorded more than VND53.6 billion for Chị chị em em 3 during October 30 to November 1. A broader opening tally put the figure at VND67 billion, without specifying an equivalent counting period. By November 5, cumulative ticket sales had reached about VND90 billion.

The main milestones show how much of the film's business arrived early:

• October 30: Chị chị em em 3 opened in Vietnamese cinemas.
• October 30 to November 1: Ticket sales exceeded VND53.6 billion over three days.
• November 5: Cumulative revenue reached about VND90 billion.
• November 6: Godzilla Minus Zero moved into first place in the daily rankings.
• November 7: Chị chị em em 3 passed VND100 billion.
• November 8: Its cumulative total reached VND105 billion.

The first three days therefore supplied just over half of the VND105 billion accumulated by November 8. That calculation, using VND53.6 billion and VND105 billion, shows how strongly the film depended on its opening burst.

November 7 still brought about VND4.9 billion from more than 52,600 tickets across nearly 2,600 screenings. Those figures work out to roughly 20 tickets per screening. Cinema capacity and attendance vary by location and time, so the number is a simple average across the day's programme.

Five characters drive the controversy

Chị chị em em 3 takes place in the old Kinh Bắc region of northern Vietnam, in a society shaped by family status, marriage expectations and strict social customs. Its central story connects three women and two men through attraction, jealousy and competing loyalties.

Kỳ Duyên plays Thị Mầu, a wealthy young woman preparing to marry Văn Tài, played by Quốc Anh. Ninh Dương Lan Ngọc plays Thị Liễu, who returns after 15 years away with her husband, Văn Cường, played by Steven Nguyễn. Liễu and Tài revive feelings from their past despite her marriage and his approaching wedding.

Chi Pu plays Thị Nương, Tài's adopted sister, whose feelings for him further complicate the relationships. The film draws inspiration from the figure of Thị Mầu, familiar through Vietnamese literature and traditional theatre, while building its own story around the five characters.

Director Nguyễn Hữu Hoàng has described his approach as sympathetic to women living under the restrictions of an earlier society. He says the film explores their desire to love and choose happiness. Much of the disagreement concerns whether the characters and their choices communicate that intention convincingly.

Why the intimate scenes drew criticism

The film contains three intimate sequences involving three pairs of characters. Some viewers have praised its images and costumes while arguing that these scenes add little to the plot or to their understanding of the people involved.

Literary critic Hà Thanh Vân argues that an intimate scene needs a clear dramatic purpose: revealing a character's feelings, explaining a relationship or moving the story forward. Her criticism focuses on whether particular scenes perform those tasks, especially the sequence involving Thị Nương and Văn Cường.

Nguyễn Hữu Hoàng offers a different explanation. He says each sequence explores the characters' inner lives and pushes them toward emotional dead ends. In his description, some moments express a longing to love openly, while others show people clinging to a relationship in desperation.

Producer Will Vũ said the team had already removed about 40% of the intimate scene running time compared with the original version. That editing decision became part of the publicity surrounding the release, keeping attention on precisely the material that later divided viewers.

The production has also publicised how those scenes were filmed. Hoàng said camera positions were rehearsed a day beforehand and the crew present during filming was restricted to two camera operators and one sound technician. He described using humour during rehearsal to reduce tension before asking the actors for a more emotionally focused performance.

Lan Ngọc said Quốc Anh, who is eight years younger than her, was particularly nervous because he had no previous experience filming such scenes. Hoàng also described cramped, hot conditions and a full day of filming during which Chi Pu and Steven Nguyễn ate lightly to maintain continuity in their performances.

The argument over women, marriage and responsibility

Hà Thanh Vân's broader concern is how the film directs sympathy toward Liễu and Tài while they pursue a relationship that hurts other people. She considers the treatment of their emotional and moral choices insufficiently developed, leaving some viewers with the impression that the affair is being romanticised.

The critic also points to the limited lives given to the female characters beyond their attachment to Tài. Their rivalry occupies much of the story, while personal ambitions, work and other interests receive less attention.

Hà Thanh Vân, a literary critic, described that imbalance this way:

Women become the ones who have to compete, while men occupy the position of being competed over.

Motherhood is another point of contention. The characters use fertility and the ability to have children to wound one another. Hà Thanh Vân argues that this material could explore the suffering of women whose social position depended on childbirth, particularly producing sons. Instead, she says, it is used largely for revelations, confrontations and dramatic surprises.

Dialogue has attracted criticism too, with some viewers finding the language too modern for the historical setting. Hoàng says he sought wording that audiences could understand rather than filling conversations with unfamiliar old expressions. The debate therefore extends beyond the affair itself to how speech, character development and dramatic consequences fit together.

Kỳ Duyên and Steven Nguyễn face different tests

Kỳ Duyên's performance as Thị Mầu has received mixed reactions. Some viewers credit her appearance and use of her eyes in moments of jealousy or calculation. Others find her vocal delivery strained and the character's transitions between fear, anger and despair insufficiently distinct.

Her preparation included guidance from People's Artist Lê Khanh and study of Thị Mầu in literature and stage productions. The role followed her cinema debut as Karen in Trấn Thành's Bộ tứ báo thủ in 2025.

Kỳ Duyên, the actress playing Thị Mầu, said she was willing to accept both praise and criticism:

I am always ready to receive praise and criticism, and from there distinguish which comments are valid, helping me recognise shortcomings and improve myself.

Steven Nguyễn has reached a different milestone: Chị chị em em 3 is his third consecutive film to exceed VND100 billion, following Mưa đỏ and Trại buôn người. Yet criticism of his latest role centres on how little room the screenplay gives Văn Cường to develop beyond a wealthy, controlling husband.

Mưa đỏ earned nearly VND714 billion, while Trại buôn người had reached VND496 billion by the latest tally. The latter stood third in Vietnam's historical box office ranking, behind Mưa đỏ and Mai. Those successes gave Steven a strong commercial record before this film, although Văn Cường asks him to work in a different dramatic register from his recent action roles.

What turns online debate into ticket sales?

Will Vũ attributes the film's revenue to three elements working together: the story, the cast and the publicity campaign. He says the actors' established audiences helped attract attention before release, while promotion aimed to turn interest into cinema visits.

The producer says he anticipated disagreement during development and respects different audience responses. Rather than changing course in response to criticism, he has continued the planned campaign, including appearances by the team at cinemas across the country.

Communications specialist Châu Quang Phước identifies curiosity as one possible reason people buy tickets after seeing negative comments. Some viewers want to judge the film for themselves; others want to participate in a conversation already circulating among friends and on social media.

He also describes FOMO, short for fear of missing out. In this setting, it means wanting to experience a film because other people are discussing it. A viewer may buy a ticket to form an opinion and join the discussion, even when the comments that first caught their attention were critical.

Phước says campaigns need to be judged against a project's intended audience and objectives. For a commercial release, reaching people likely to buy tickets matters more than pleasing every person discussing it online. He identifies the film's creative quality as its lasting competitive advantage once publicity has brought viewers through the door.

Godzilla changes the screening battle

Godzilla Minus Zero earned about VND6 billion on November 8 across more than 2,200 screenings, helping take its first three days to roughly VND19 billion. Its arrival gave Chị chị em em 3 a direct competitor with strong audience interest and a reported 91% positive critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Chị chị em em 3 had about 5,200 screenings a day near launch. By November 6, that figure was around 2,700, before falling to approximately 2,600. The reduction from 5,200 to 2,600 represents half of its initial daily screening opportunities.

Nguyễn Hoàng Hải, content director at CGV Vietnam, says cinema schedules are adjusted using performance at individual screenings, demand across different times, advance bookings and the release calendar. During busy periods, changes can happen daily. Strong demand can also lead cinemas to add screenings or extend operating hours.

For a film trying to build recommendations through audience discussion, fewer screenings mean fewer times and places where potential customers can buy tickets. Maintaining attendance across several cinemas and time slots is therefore central to keeping a large release in circulation.

A crowded market beyond the leading pair

Bò sữa bay, directed by Nguyễn Phạm Thành Đạt, opened on November 6 and placed third with nearly VND12 billion over three days. Its cast includes Võ Điền Gia Huy, Ngọc Xuân, Tiểu Vy, Nguyễn Hùng, People's Artist Trung Anh, Meritorious Artist Quốc Tuấn and Khánh Vy.

Indian epic Ramayana: Khởi nguồn một huyền thoại, described as having a production investment of USD500 million, ranked fourth with less than VND6 billion in Vietnam. Animated release Chàng mèo mang mũ followed with VND2 billion. Án mạng karaoke, featuring Vân Dung, had accumulated VND48 billion.

The next releases include the family drama Ngày con còn mẹ, directed by Vũ Ngọc Đãng and starring Hồng Đào and Phương Anh Đào, alongside Phép màu đêm Giáng sinh, featuring Johnny Depp. Later dates include Mẹ mìn on November 27 and Huyết thống on December 25. Chuyến đi nhớ đời moved to January 22, 2027.

Film critic Nguyễn Phong Việt expects business during the remainder of the fourth quarter to be spread across several titles rather than dominated by another success on the scale of Trại buôn người. He points to the varied audiences served by the competing films and the exceptional circumstances surrounding earlier record setters.

Will there be a fourth film?

Chị chị em em 3 is the second entry in the franchise to pass VND100 billion, following Chị chị em em 2. The series uses separate stories, settings and characters rather than continuing a single plot.

The first film, directed by Kathy Uyên in 2019, starred Thanh Hằng, Lãnh Thanh and Chi Pu. Vũ Ngọc Đãng directed the 2023 second instalment, with Minh Hằng and Ngọc Trinh playing celebrated beauties from the early 20th century. Lotte Entertainment distributes the third film.

Will Vũ says his original plan covered only three films. A fourth instalment has not been decided, and he says a particularly compelling opportunity would be needed to change that plan. For the current release, the immediate task is extending its theatrical run against new competition while audiences continue debating the story.

Key Points

• Chị chị em em 3 reached VND105 billion by November 8, after passing VND100 billion on November 7.
• The film earned more than VND53.6 billion during its first three days.
• Criticism focuses on intimate scenes, the portrayal of an affair, female characters and some performances.
• Daily screenings fell from about 5,200 near launch to approximately 2,600.
• Godzilla Minus Zero took the daily box office lead and earned about VND19 billion over three days.
• Producer Will Vũ credits the story, cast and promotion; a fourth instalment remains undecided.