Chinese Indie Film Dear You Heads to UK and Europe After Blockbuster Success

TLDR: Dear You, the Teochew-language family drama that has become one of China’s biggest surprise hits, is preparing for its international rollout. Distributor Trinity CineAsia has acquired the film’s rights for the United Kingdom, Ireland, and France, with releases set to begin in British and Irish cinemas on Jun 26 before expanding to France.

From USD2 Million to USD250 Million

Released in China on Apr 30 with minimal marketing support, Dear You was produced on a budget of approximately USD2 million. The cast is made up largely of non-professional actors from the Chaoshan region, including a 20-year-old finance student making his acting debut in the lead role.

Just six weeks after release, the film had earned roughly USD250 million at the Chinese box office, generating more than 120 times its production budget. It currently ranks as the second-highest-grossing film in China this year, behind only Han Han’s Lunar New Year hit Pegasus 3.

The film’s success has provided a significant boost to China’s theatrical market, which has otherwise been experiencing a year-on-year decline.

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Continuous Success of Dear You

Dear You continues to perform strongly at the box office. On its 44th day in release, the film reportedly earned more than double the opening-day revenue of Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day.

Ticketing platform Maoyan now projects a final domestic total exceeding USD266 million.

Much of the film’s success has been driven by exceptional word of mouth. It currently holds a 9.2 rating on Douban from more than 700,000 users, making it one of the highest-rated Chinese releases of the past decade.

The Story Behind the Film

Director and co-writer Lan Hongchun spent three years interviewing more than 120 elderly residents from the Chaoshan region while developing the screenplay. The story follows a debt-ridden grandson who travels to Thailand in search of his supposedly wealthy grandfather, who left during wartime and never returned.

As his journey unfolds, he discovers that his grandfather has long since passed away and that the letters his grandmother treasured for years were actually written by a stranger. The emotional story explores themes of family, migration, sacrifice, and identity.

Set in eastern Guangdong province, the film highlights the history of Teochew-speaking communities whose members migrated throughout Southeast Asia during the 19th and 20th centuries. Thai actress Usha Seamkhum, known for her role in How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies, makes a special appearance that celebrates her own Teochew-Thai heritage.

International Expansion for Dear You

Trinity CineAsia’s managing director Cedric Behrel described Dear You as one of the most remarkable Chinese box office success stories in recent years.

He noted that the film offers audiences around the world an opportunity to connect with stories of heritage, identity, and migration that resonate across generations.

The film begins its wider international rollout on Jun 18 across Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, and Malaysia, shown in TGV Cinemas.

Dear You 《给阿嬷的情书》Movie Trailer & Synopsis

潮汕老人叶淑柔一直过着平静安详的晚年生活。然而，深陷债务的孙子小威瞒着家人只身前往泰国，寻访传说中身家丰厚的祖父郑木生。不料，小威带回了一个令全家震惊的消息：祖父早已离世多年，而这些年来一直与阿嬷鸿雁传书的，竟是一个素不相识的陌生人。随着真相一层层揭开，一段尘封半个世纪的爱情故事浮出水面——影片在现代与1940年代战乱年间两条时间线之间穿梭，讲述一名初婚男子为了养家糊口，忍痛离别家乡，辗转南下闯荡异乡的故事。那一封封亲笔写就的侨批，成为海外华人与故乡家人之间唯一的情感纽带，承载着真挚的思念、家庭的责任与绵绵的故土情怀。

Teochew grandmother Ye Shurou has always lived a peaceful, quiet life, enjoying her twilight years.

Burdened by heavy debts, her grandson Xiaowei secretly leaves for Thailand without telling the family, searching for his rumoured billionaire grandfather, Zheng Musheng. However, Xiaowei returns with a shocking revelation that rocks the entire family: his grandfather had passed away long ago, and the person who had been exchanging romantic letters with Grandma all these years was actually a complete stranger.

As Xiaowei digs deeper, a hidden half-century-old love story gradually comes to light — one that weaves between the present-day search and a young newlywed man who left his hometown in China during wartime in the 1940s, travelling to Southeast Asia in search of work to support his family.

Through handwritten letters and remittance notes — known as qiaopi — that served as the only emotional bridge between overseas Chinese and their families back home, the film unravels a story of sincere longing, familial responsibility, and homeland nostalgia spanning generations.