The Roundup: Ma Dong-seok's blockbuster action comedy banned in Vietnam

The Roundup, South Korea's box-office sensation starring Eternals actor Ma Dong-seok, has been banned in Vietnam.

The action comedy, which is the highly anticipated sequel to the 2017 film The Outlaws, has been raising expectations worldwide. However, The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vietnam has refused to release the film on account of it depicting too much violence.

Lotte Entertainment, who is in charge of the overseas distribution of the film, applied for a review of The Roundup with the Film Bureau under Vietnam's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Unfortunately, that did not go well for the film.

A company spokesperson told The Korea Herald:

"The Roundup has been banned by Vietnam for presenting too many violent scenes."

The Ma Dong-seok-starrer has a large share of gruesome action-packed scenes. While some fans have praised the brutality shown and have hailed the brilliant on-screen execution of its action scenes as a main attraction of the film, the same has reportedly been cited as a problem by the censor board of Vietnam.

A film industry insider who wished to remain anonymous told The Korea Herald that Ho Chi Minh's portrayal as a lawless city running amok with crime may have had an impact on the authorities' decision.

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The Roundup earned $20+ million over opening weekend in Korea

Ma Dong-seok of Train to Busan fame returned to reprise his role as the 'beast cop' Ma Seok-do. Along with his junior colleagues, he traveled to the Ho Chi Minh city of Vietnam to extradite a Korean suspect. He ended up involved in a chase through the city, trying to track down a psychopath responsible for the disappearances of several Korean citizens in Vietnam.

The sequel has garnered praise for its spectacular performances and has become an example of a successful sequel to an extremely popular title.

In its opening week, the movie earned $21.1 million in Korea, per Variety. Moreover, it sold over 10 million tickets, becoming the first film to cross that mark in the country in three years. It was also the fastest movie in Korea to hit the one million mark since the onset of the pandemic.

According to KOBIS, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic), The Roundup had sold over 12 million tickets and earned more than $98 million at the time of writing.