The Vietnamese found-footage horror film, Lầu Chú Hoả: The Deadliest Mansion, is set to open in North American theaters on September 4. Mockingbird Pictures is handling the theatrical release, distributing the film across AMC, Regal, and Cinemark cinema circuits.
Directed by Hùng Trần, the movie became Vietnam’s first theatrical found-footage horror release and achieved significant success following its June debut. It reached the top of the local box office, attracting over one million admissions and generating more than VND78 billion, equivalent to $3 million, in cumulative grosses.
The film draws inspiration from a well-known Vietnamese urban legend. Its narrative follows a group of young streamers who break into the reportedly haunted Hứa family estate, aiming to gain fame and financial reward. However, their live broadcast captures a malevolent force reawakening, drawing them into the century-old story of the Ghost of the Hứa Family. The entire production was filmed in a found-footage style.
Lầu Chú Hoả: The Deadliest Mansion was produced by Runup Vietnam in collaboration with South Korea’s Hive Media Corp. This project marks Hive Media Corp’s initial production investment outside of its home market. Hive Media Corp has previously supported several major Korean releases, including 12.12: The Day, Inside Men, The Man Standing Next, and Harbin. The company also backed the found-footage horror title Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum, which garnered over 2.6 million admissions in South Korea.
Producer Lee Jin Sung stated that found footage has the capacity to make audiences feel as though they are personally experiencing the horror. Sung noted that working with Hive Media Corp allowed them to bring this experience to a distinctively Vietnamese legend while maintaining the story’s unique identity and atmosphere.
Mockingbird Pictures is managing the North American theatrical rollout as part of its broader initiative to introduce Vietnamese commercial films to international audiences. Phong Duong, business director of Mockingbird Pictures and an executive producer at its sister company Bluebells Studios, commented that Lầu Chú Hoả: The Deadliest Mansion offers one of the most intense Vietnamese horror experiences in recent years. Duong expressed belief that the film has international appeal and aims for audiences worldwide to experience its fear.
Mockingbird Pictures’ distribution network includes more than 60 new theatrical releases annually in Vietnam and over 100 titles across post-theatrical platforms. This reflects the company’s increasing focus on bringing Southeast Asian films to a global audience.
