China Loses Young Moviegoers as Vietnam Market Grows, JAFF Market Panel Hears

China’s theatrical market is losing younger audiences while Vietnam emerges as a breakout territory for pan-Asian content, according to industry executives speaking at the JAFF Market.

Eric Lin, general manager of international content at Alibaba‘s Damai Entertainment, revealed that Chinese audiences under 24 now represent only 15% of total moviegoers, down from 38% before the pandemic. “We’re losing half of them in five or six years,” Lin said, noting that core frequent audiences have shifted to the 30-49 age bracket. While the year saw “Ne Zha 2” generate more that $2 billion at the box office, the market struggles to retain younger demographics competing with short-form vertical content AKA microdramas.

Vietnam has established itself as a crucial territory for Asian films, with Phong Duong, business director at Mockingbird Pictures, presenting market data showing Vietnamese title “Red Rain” generated more than $27 million, becoming the highest-grossing film of all time in the territory.

The panel, moderated by JAFF Market advisor Lorna Tee and presented in partnership with Indonesian producers’ association APROFI, brought together Duong, Lin, Nelson Mok, CEO of Mokster Films, and Shiori Takata, director of international production at Toei. Indonesia’s theatrical market has demonstrated strength with local films capturing over 65% of box office share.

Mok, whose company handled international sales for “How To Make a Million Before Grandma Dies” and the Taiwanese version of “More Than Blue,” emphasized theatrical-focused distribution strategies. “The similarity between the two films is a when we first bring it to the market, nobody wanted the films,” Mok revealed. “Everybody rejected the movies because it didn’t fit into any sort of computation of what distributor had in mind as a commercial film.”

Takata noted Japan’s domestic market faces challenges with animation comprising 80-90% of content, leaving limited space for live-action films. Toei launched its international production division in 2023, targeting Southeast Asian partnerships in the $1 million to $2.5 million budget range. Multiple panelists stressed production quality’s importance for attracting international buyers.