Chinese Drama 'Take Off' Lands in U.S. Theaters September 17 via Orchid Tree Media
A Chinese drama about a factory worker who builds a homemade jetpack is heading to American cinemas. Specialty distributor Orchid Tree Media will release Pengfei's fourth feature, Take Off, in U.S. theaters on 17 September, the company announced on 14 August The Hollywood Reporter.
The film follows Li Mingqi, played by Jiang Qiming, who inherits his father's quixotic ambition to build a flying jetpack. When his nephew falls gravely ill, Li straps on the homemade machine one last time Film at Lincoln Center. Jiang also appears in the Chinese blockbuster Once Upon a Time in the Middle East.
The story carries its own literary pedigree. Take Off is based on "The Aeronaut," a novella by Chinese author Shuang Xuetao that was included in his 2022 story collection Rouge Street — a title the New York Times named an editors' choice. Shuang co-wrote the screenplay with director Pengfei (also known as Peng Fei) and Xu Yizhou, and served as an executive producer on the film.
Take Off has already travelled a long festival and theatrical route. It world-premiered in competition at the Tokyo International Film Festival in October 2025, where Beijing-based sales agent Rediance had boarded international sales ahead of the screening Screen Daily. The film opened in Chinese theatres in January and grossed $12 million (RMB 81 million). Rediance then brokered the U.S. deal with Orchid Tree.
Stateside audiences got their first look last month. Take Off had its North American premiere on 17 July at the 25th New York Asian Film Festival, screening at Lincoln Center. Orchid Tree promoted the festival date on its Instagram account, posting on 16 July that the film was "taking off tomorrow" Orchid Tree Media Instagram.
What makes the pickup notable is the route it represents. A film from a Chinese director working outside the country's blockbuster mainstream, adapted from a literary collection praised by the Times, finding a U.S. specialty distributor — that chain runs from page to festival circuit to foreign sales agent to an American boutique label willing to give it a theatrical run. Each link is a decision by someone.
For audiences, the 17 September release puts Take Off on the autumn calendar, the corridor where specialty distributors typically slot foreign-language and independent titles ahead of awards-season chatter. Whether it finds a wider audience beyond the festival crowd is a question the box office will answer.
