Lotte-Financed Remake of Japanese Film Finds Success in Southeast Asia

Lotte Entertainment has scored a hit in Vietnam with Chìa khóa trăm tỉ (The Hundred Billion Key), an adaptation of the Japanese comedy Key of Life, which was previously remade with great success in Korea as LUCK-KEY (2016).

Chìa khóa trăm tỉ was the top film during Tết, the Vietnamese Lunar New Year festivities, leading all new releases. By mid-February, the film had garnered 860,000 viewers and generated USD 2.82 million in revenue.

Released in 2012, the Japanese original Key of Life tells the story of a struggling actor who envies a man’s possessions in a bathhouse and steals them after the latter receives a knock on the head. Remorseful, the actor soon decides to return the items, only to discover that the man has amnesia. He then continues to live the man’s life, who turns out to be a professional hitman.

From director Lee Gaebyok, the 2016 Korean remake LUCK-KEY featured Yoo Haijin as the hitman and Lee Joon as the hapless young actor. The film was a surprise hit at the box office, accumulating close to seven million admissions, one of the best scores ever for a comedy in the Korean market. LUCK-KEY was financed and distributed by Showbox.

Lotte Entertainment has been active in distribution and production in Vietnam for several years and has found success with films such as the 2019 action title Hai Phuong, which became the top-grossing Vietnamese film of all time. Lotte Entertainment’s sister company Lotte Cinema is also one of the leading exhibitors in the Vietnamese market.