Why did Doraemon succeed Maika despite being praised for everything?

A film that is praised and fails at home, is the reason for the audience or the filmmakers?

Maika – The girl from another planet is currently the Vietnamese film receiving the most praise in 2022. The film is considered suitable for both adults and young audiences during the summer. Not only is it new in terms of plot and effects compared to other Vietnamese films, but the attractive natural acting of the child actors along with the meaningful message about family is also a big plus point of the film. Maika received praise from the audience, experts both in Vietnam and around the world. However, the film’s revenue is at an alarming rate, earning only 5.2 billion dong after half a month of its release (according to boxofficevietnam), equal to 1/6 the cost of making a film of 30 billion VND.

Meanwhile, another children’s movie is Doraemon: Nobita and the Tiny Universe War 2021 has a turnover of up to 35 billion, topping the Japanese movies ever shown in Vietnam.

Vietnamese audiences don’t like children’s movies? Are you sure. Do the audience criticize domestic movies? There have been successful Vietnamese films with revenue exceeding hundreds of billions recently. So why is a movie for children of such high quality? Maika lose again at home in children’s movie month?

Promotional poster in Vietnam of “Maika” and “Doraemon”

Slogan wrong to orient the audience

Maika’s slogan on the movie poster is “Everybody had a Maika like that.” Maika is the main character in the Slovak TV series released in 1976, loved in Czechoslovakia and many countries around the world. In Vietnam, the film aired on television in 1981 with the name Maika – The girl who fell from the sky. At that time, the audience who is passionate about Maika will be the 7x and 6x generations. The name Maika cannot touch the memories of the late 8x audience and later, while this is a large customer force for the film market.

A scene from the TV series “Maika – The girl who fell from the sky”

Doraemon was first published in Vietnam in 1992 (without copyright) in 1998 (with copyright held by Kim Dong Publishing House). Since then, there hasn’t been a single time when editions of the blue mechanical cat have been absent from any bookstore, be it a new bookstore, a used bookstore or a library. The cartoon of the same name was also shown for a long time on television. Currently youtube channel content for children POPS Kids acquired the rights to the animated series DoraemonVietnamese audiences can watch it for free anytime, anywhere. Many episodes have tens of millions of views.

Every year in the summer, there is a movie Doraemon out in theaters. Therefore, the magical mechanical cat not only stops in the hearts of the children of the 90s of the last century, but also of all children. In Vietnam, “Doraemon” is a name with a wide and powerful influence that can be compared to any blockbuster brand.

In Vietnamese bookstores, a large part of the children’s book section is always Doraemon’s diverse editions.

Promoting a movie is just as important as creating it. In an era where there are hundreds and thousands of new news every day, it is easy for audiences to ignore a movie that they can’t find any connection from the poster, the introduction.

Science fiction thinking has not yet broken through

All the troubles in your life can be solved in the blink of an eye with a certain treasure of the donut-loving mechanical cat. The world of Doraemon very magical, but also very reasonable and makes it easy for readers and viewers to accept to immerse themselves in it. The problems of Nobita in 1970 are still the problems of many adults and children of this day. Theatrical movies are often made based on the content of long story collections, aiming to new lands, opening a horizon for the imagination to roam freely.

Maika – The girl from another planet remake of a movie from the last century. The main thing that captivated audiences of the time was Maika’s strange abilities. It’s been 46 years since the original came out, is that still compelling enough in an age where technology has drawn thousands of magical on-screen adventures?

Safe choice

For the purpose of going to theaters to find a weekend entertainment movie for the whole family, Doraemon Definitely a safe option. A lot of viewers watched the movie Maika Everyone regrets that the movie doesn’t get the revenue it deserves, but is that regret enough to pull them to the theater to see it Maika Again? While a series of summer blockbusters are waiting to be released, and Doraemon still beckoning all audiences at the theater?

So how to attract the audience, so that they feel “safe”, or at least “dare to try” with a “homegrown” Vietnamese sci-fi children’s movie?

Maika – The girl from another planet is a fairly well-organized, new film in the domestic film market, cute and easy to watch. But certainly the film is not enough to create an image, a dream. The film’s box office failure is rated 80% “fresh tomatoes” on rottentomatoes This is a sad outcome that comes from many causes. The fact that there are not many screenings or being classified in the “bad” time frame at the beginning is also a reason. But the biggest cause certainly still comes from the filmmakers. Let’s just make a cute movie like that, the script is tighter and more novel, promote it more strongly and in the right direction, don’t expect the audience’s “pity” through the Vietnamese film label. Audiences will open up to a good movie, one that delivers what they’re looking for when it hits theaters.