Southeast Asian Cinema Gains Traction at Busan Market as Vietnam and Cambodia Showcase Regional Growth
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Southeast Asian producers are securing prominent positions at the Busan Asian Contents & Film Market, with Vietnamese and Cambodian studios leading competing slates. This visibility reflects broader momentum in the region: Vietnamese cinema achieved a watershed moment in 2025, generating over $114 million in domestic revenue and outperforming international films in the local market for the first time, signaling maturing production ecosystems and shifting audience appetites across Southeast Asia.
Bee Entertainment anchors its Busan presentation with "Arithmadtic," a psychological horror that exemplifies Vietnam's expanding genre capabilities, while Abnormal Studios is promoting a Cambodian remake of the celebrated 2010 Korean drama "Wedding Dress." The Cambodian adaptation, reimagined in Phnom Penh, centres on Dalin, a bridal designer confronting both a terminal diagnosis and estrangement from her young daughter, exploring how mortality redefines maternal relationships and family dynamics.
- Vietnamese and Cambodian productions lead separate studio slates at Busan, reflecting Southeast Asia's strengthened footprint in international film markets
- Vietnamese cinema achieved historic domestic performance in 2025, grossing $114 million and surpassing foreign releases—the first time locally-made films have dominated the market
- Two regional productions showcase distinct storytelling: Vietnamese psychological horror and a Cambodian drama examining mortality and motherhood through a cross-cultural remake
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The Busan Asian Contents & Film Market is one of the region's largest film industry events, where studios showcase films to buyers and distributors. Southeast Asian cinema, particularly from Vietnam and Cambodia, is increasingly prominent at such markets, reflecting growing investment and audience interest in films made outside traditional powerhouses like South Korea and Japan.
Vietnamese cinema achieved a significant milestone in 2025 by generating over $114 million in domestic revenue and outperforming international films in its home market for the first time. This marks a shift from previous years when Hollywood productions dominated local cinemas. The achievement suggests that audiences are increasingly choosing homemade content as production quality improves.
The growth reflects broader changes across the region: production companies are investing in diverse genres, technical capabilities are advancing, and audiences are increasingly choosing regional films over imported ones. These developments indicate that Southeast Asia's film industries are maturing and becoming more competitive in their own markets and beyond.
Full account
Southeast Asian producers are using Busan’s Asian Contents & Film Market to seek buyers and partners for films rooted in local settings and genres with wider appeal. Vietnam’s Bee Entertainment is presenting four features scheduled for 2027 alongside three long-form television dramas. Malaysia’s Abnormal Studios is offering a broader slate that includes Cambodian and Malaysian stories, regional horror projects and films from elsewhere in Asia. Together, the line-ups show companies looking beyond their home markets while retaining the places, traditions and relationships that shape their stories.
Bee’s plans follow a strong year for Vietnamese cinema at home. Vietnamese films took more than VND3 trillion (£88 million approximately) at the domestic box office in 2025, according to the report, and for the first time outperformed imported titles there. Bee is seeking investment, development and distribution partners, as well as licensing deals. Its lead feature, Irving Ly’s psychological horror film ‘Arithmadtic’, is set at an elite international school where a transfer student’s connection with a teacher becomes entangled with apparently supernatural events. Anh Thu and Lam Thanh My star, with Phuong Tra My also in the cast. The film is due in January 2027.
Bee’s remaining features move across family drama, comedy and horror. ‘The Step-Mother’, directed by Tran Nhan Kien and planned for the second quarter of 2027, follows a bereaved boy whose difficult relationship with his stepmother gradually becomes more complicated. Pom Nguyen’s action comedy and family drama ‘How to Find a Fortune in 60 Days’ is scheduled for the third quarter, followed by Le Ha Nguyen’s horror romantic comedy ‘Dealing With a Ghost’ in the fourth. Bee is also promoting the family dramas ‘The Unrecognized Heir’ and ‘A Deal With God’, and the romance ‘Destined to Find You’. The company says ‘The Unrecognized Heir’, which began airing on VTV9 in December 2025, has attracted one billion views across social media platforms; that figure is its own account of the programme’s reach.
Abnormal Studios’ lead title is a Cambodian adaptation of the 2010 South Korean drama ‘Wedding Dress’. Set in Phnom Penh and directed by first-time feature filmmaker Huang Han, it follows a bridal-gown designer who tries to prepare her young daughter for life without her after receiving a terminal diagnosis. Elsewhere on the slate, Alejandro Hidalgo’s ‘The Hungry One’ places a family visit to Malaysia during the Hungry Ghost Festival; it remains in pre-production as its producers seek final financing. Abnormal is also handling the Malaysian cannibal comedy horror ‘Ali & Ben’s Spicy Meats’ and the science fiction fantasy ‘Mimpi Kita: Castle in the Air’. Its other offerings include Cambodian romance, folk horror and crime stories, a Kuala Lumpur ensemble drama, and films connected with Hong Kong and Indonesia. Where Bee’s presentation centres on a Vietnamese company’s forthcoming productions, Abnormal’s ranges across countries and stages of production, with a Cambodian remake at its forefront.
Where outlets differ
The first report focuses on Bee Entertainment’s Vietnamese films and television dramas, placing its Busan pitch in the context of Vietnam’s 2025 box-office performance. The second focuses on Abnormal Studios’ pan-Asian sales slate, led by a Cambodian adaptation of a South Korean film, and gives more attention to Cambodian settings and horror projects. They describe different companies at the same market rather than conflicting accounts of the same titles.
Coverage
- Variety — Vietnamese Horror ‘Arithmadtic’ Leads Bee Entertainment’s Busan Market Slate, With New Film From ‘The Corpse’ Director
- Variety — Cambodian Remake of Korean Mother-Daughter Drama ‘Wedding Dress’ Leads Abnormal Studios’ Busan Market Slate (EXCLUSIVE)