China's $298 Million Teochew-Language Hit 'Dear You' Opens Wide Across North America September 4
A Chinese drama made for about $2.1 million that went on to gross roughly RMB2 billion ($297.6 million) at home gets its wide North American release on September 4, as distributor Well Go USA opens "Dear You" across the United States and Canada (Variety).
Well Go USA, which acquired North American rights back in June (Deadline), has booked the film into AMC, Regal, Cinemark, Harkins, Cineplex, Landmark and SilverCity venues. The footprint stretches across New York, Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, Chicago, Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Seattle, Washington D.C., Boston, Phoenix, Miami, Las Vegas, Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Calgary and Edmonton — a genuinely wide break for a foreign-language title, not the usual four-screen platform (Variety).
Directed by Lan Hongchun, "Dear You" follows a debt-ridden grandson who travels to Thailand to find the grandfather he believes abandoned their family. The old man, behind years of qiaopi letters and remittances — the traditional correspondence and money transfers sent home by overseas Chinese — becomes the grandson's last hope for clearing his debts. What he uncovers instead is a lifelong act of love and sacrifice rooted in those same overseas Chinese community traditions (Variety).
The film stars Li Sitong, Wang Yantong, Wu Shaoqing, Zheng Runqi and Wang Xiaohui, with special appearances by Zhao Shuguang, Li Deru, Li Shuhao and Usha Seamkhum. Seamkhum will be familiar to North American audiences from the Thai hit "How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies" (Variety).
What makes the numbers remarkable is the ratio. A production budget of roughly $2.1 million against a Chinese gross of nearly $298 million puts "Dear You" among the highest-grossing films in China for 2026 — a return multiplier that most studio tentpoles can only dream of. The film also carries a 9.3 rating from 890,000 users on Douban, China's major film review platform, suggesting the audience enthusiasm is broad rather than narrow (Variety; Variety, July 28).
The North American opening extends a global rollout already covering Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei. The U.K., France, Ireland, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia and New Zealand are also on the international schedule (Variety).
Festival honours preceded the commercial run. "Dear You" played as closing night film and had its North American premiere at the New York Asian Film Festival. It won the Special Jury Honor at the China Movie Channel Media Awards 2026 and Best Asian Art Film of the Year at the Asian Art Film Festival (Variety).
The film is presented in Teochew, Mandarin Chinese and Thai, with English subtitles. Well Go USA unveiled a clip ahead of the opening on its official film page. Producers are King Ant Pictures, Beijing Damai Entertainment Culture, Rongde Holding Group and Lichun Pictures (Variety).
