Vietnamese Horror 'Arithmadtic' Headlines Bee Entertainment's Busan Slate

Psychological horror "Arithmadtic," set in an elite international school and styled after the Dark Academia aesthetic, leads the genre-heavy slate Vietnam's Bee Entertainment is presenting to buyers at Busan's Asian Contents & Film Market (ACFM).

The market push comes on the strength of a milestone year. Vietnamese films grossed more than VND3 trillion ($114 million) at home in 2025, outperforming international titles in the local market for the first time. Bee Entertainment now aims to carry that momentum abroad.

The company's slate pairs four features, all set for release in 2027, with three long-form TV dramas at various stages of production. At ACFM, Bee is seeking partners for investment, co-development and distribution, as well as rights licensing deals.

Who stars in 'Arithmadtic'?

Anh Thu, known for the 2007 Vietnam-South Korea co-production "Muoi: The Legend of a Portrait," and Lam Thanh My ("Yellow Flowers on the Green Grass") headline the film, titled "Cong Tru Nhan Chia" in Vietnamese. The story centers on a transfer student's enigmatic bond with a teacher, as a string of unexplained, supernatural incidents cracks the school's polished facade.

Phuong Tra My, who played the lead in "The Third Wife" — which premiered at Toronto and won the NETPAC Award — joins the cast alongside Chu Anh Tuan, Cong Ninh, Hoang Minh Hung and Dac Thang.

Irving Ly directs. His short "Close the Eye to See" played BFI Flare and the Korea Queer Film Festival and won a Silver Kite at Vietnam's 2025 Golden Kite Awards. "Arithmadtic" opens in January 2027.

What else is on the 2027 feature slate?

Three more features follow across 2027:

• "The Step-Mother" — directed by Tran Nhan Kien, an Asian Film School graduate who took part in the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival's B.I.G NAFF Fantastic Film School. The film follows a boy who has lost his father, as his relationship with his stepmother moves from conflict and misunderstanding to the blurry line between strictness and care. It is dated for the second quarter.
• "How to Find a Fortune in 60 Days" — the next project from Pom Nguyen, director of "The Corpse" franchise, whose first two installments grossed more than VND280 billion ($10.7 million) combined. The film mixes action, comedy and family drama and arrives in the third quarter.
• "Dealing With a Ghost" — Le Ha Nguyen's horror romantic comedy, closing the slate with a fourth-quarter release.

What is happening on the television side?

"The Unrecognized Heir," an 80-episode family drama directed by Trac Huynh Nhat Tan, began airing on VTV9 in December 2025 and has already drawn 1 billion views across social media platforms, according to the company.

Two further series round out the slate: "A Deal With God," a 65-episode mix of family drama, comedy and fantasy directed by Dang Minh Quoc, and "Destined to Find You," an 80-episode romance directed by Trac and now in post-production.

A subsidiary of Bee Comm, Bee Entertainment invests in, produces, releases and sells both Vietnamese and foreign films. Founded in 2009, Bee Comm produces the Vietnamese edition of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" and the social-impact program "Mai Am Gia Dinh Viet" ("The Vietnamese Family Shelter").

The ACFM runs through October, while the 31st Busan International Film Festival closes Oct. 15. Buyers circling the Korean market this week will find in Bee's slate a test of whether Vietnam's homegrown box-office surge can translate into international sales.