\n\tU.S. filmgoers will soon get the chance to check out China\u2019s biggest sleeper hit of 2026. Dear You, the family drama that was made for just $2 million but went on to earn nearly $300 million over the spring and summer, opens in select North American theaters on Sept. 4, courtesy of specialty label Well Go USA. The indie distributor and its partners released a first U.S. trailer for the film on Thursday (see it below).<\/p>\n
\n\tA multi-generational story of love and loyalty, Dear You is co-written and directed by Lan Hongchun and told in the minority Teochew language. It stars a cast of almost entirely non-professional actors, led by Li Sitong, a 22-year-old finance graduate with no prior screen credits, as the young woman at the heart of the film\u2019s mystery. The film draws its language and setting from Chaoshan, the corner of eastern Guangdong province around the cities of Shantou, Chaozhou and Jieyang whose Teochew-speaking communities sent millions of migrants into Southeast Asia<\/a> in the 19th and 20th centuries.<\/p>\n \n\tThe story follows a debt-ridden grandson who travels to Thailand in search of the \u201cmillionaire\u201d grandfather who left during wartime and never returned \u2014 only to learn the man is long dead, and that the letters and remittances his grandmother received over a period of decades were sent by a generous stranger. Lan has said he spent three years interviewing more than 120 elderly Chaoshan residents and migrants, with most of the plot drawn from their accounts. The film\u2019s supporting stars include Wang Yantong, Wu Shaoqing, Zheng Runqi and Wang Xiaohui.<\/p>\n \n\tReleased in China on April 30 with little fanfare, the film opened to just $550,000 (RMB 3.8 million), buried under several much starrier titles that were also released for China\u2019s busy May Day holiday weekend. But word of mouth soon took over. The film eventually climbed to No. 1 by May 10 and stayed there for more than 20 consecutive days, overtaking local crime thriller Vanishing Point, Hong Kong franchise sequel Cold War 1994 and 20th Century Studios\u2019 The Devil Wears Prada 2, all of which had opened the same weekend with vastly bigger marketing campaigns behind them. Audiences touched by Dear You\u2018s heartwarming story of love and sacrifice lifted its score on review site Douban to 9.3, the highest rating for a Chinese release in more than a decade. Only Chinese New Year hit Pegasus 3 ($600 million) and Stephen Chow\u2019s Kung Fu Soccer ($338 million) have earned more at China\u2019s box office<\/a> this year.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe\u2019re honored to bring Dear You to North American audiences following its extraordinary success in China,\u201d said Doris Pfardrescher, president and CEO of Well Go USA Entertainment. \u201cLan Hongchun has crafted a deeply moving story about family, sacrifice and the enduring power of human kindness that resonates across cultures. We know audiences will be captivated by its emotional honesty and unforgettable performances.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tDear You was produced by Luo Zhanhong, Xie Ying, Zheng Xuanxuan and Lin Guoming. Lan co-wrote the screenplay with Leng Yang and Zheng Xuanxuan.<\/p>\n \n\tThe film made its North American premiere at the New York Asian Film Festival in July.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"U.S. filmgoers will soon get the chance to check out China\u2019s biggest sleeper hit of 2026. Dear You,…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":867962,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[28],"tags":[3774,207,171,1801,53,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-998599","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-asia","tag-box-office","tag-entertainment","tag-international","tag-movies","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117089521684723896","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/998599","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=998599"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/998599\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/867962"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=998599"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=998599"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=998599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}