Vietnamese Harry Potter fans cursed?
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As Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 hits the screens around the world, its international distributor Warner Bros shows no sign it will release the last movie in the popular franchise in Vietnam.
For many loyal young fans who have grown up in the magical world of J. K. Rowling for the last decade, this is shocking news.
Speculation and rumors have been rife on social media pages and forums for the last two weeks since Warner Bros announced its worldwide screening schedule without Vietnam on it.
Things came to a head when Megastar, the local distributor of part 1 of the film, confirmed it would not screen the film in either 2D or 3D version.
Many fans have teamed up to launch an online petition, “A million signatures to ask Warner Bros to screen Harry Porter 7.2 in Vietnam,” to urge the studio to change its mind.
“We signed the petition because Harry Porter has played a tremendous role in each of our childhoods,” the fans wrote in a letter to Warner Bros.
“Harry Porter has existed for the most part of our life.”
As the campaign has only garnered around 3,000 signatures, Nguyen Thanh, a signatory, said: “We all know what we are doing is very impractical.
“But we still do it as a way to voice our hope that we can see Harry and his friends on screen here in Vietnam.”
Many fans are also bewildered that local distributors are not bringing their favorite movie to Vietnam.
From 2001, when the first Potter movie was produced, until last year, Galaxy was the main distributor of the series in Vietnam.
Through its parent company abroad, Megastar, Vietnam’s leading film distributor, grabbed the rights last November for the first part of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Vu Phuong, media representative of Megastar, claimed the film was the top grosser among the entire franchise in Vietnam.
However, there has been speculation that Megastar inflated the figure, causing mistrust at Warner Bros,Saigon Tiep Thi magazine reported recently.
That none of Warner Bros’ other blockbusters like The Hangover 2 and Green Lantern have been released in Vietnam since last summer only seems to add to that speculation.
Trinh Thanh Tam, a Galaxy spokesperson, said her company had contacted Warner Bros, but the Hollywood giant had yet to reply.
“All we can do is wait,” she said.
In the meantime, disappointed and frustrated fans are lamenting on social media sites.
Meocondangiu, a young forum member, said she had been waiting and saving for a year since the first part of the Deathly Hallows.
Meocondangiu, a young forum member, said she had been waiting and saving for a year since the first part of the Deathly Hallows.
“I almost cried when I saw fans in the UK camping outside the cinema for the movie’s premiere.”
“I don’t even get to see the characters on screen here, let alone meeting them in real life like that,” she said.
