One of China’s biggest theatrical stories of 2026, the Chaozhou family drama “Dear You” will be released in North America, Australia and New Zealand after CMC Pictures secured theatrical distribution rights.
The film will be released in Australia and New Zealand on June 25th, followed by North America on June 26th.
The acquisition expands the global reach of the film, which became a word-of-mouth phenomenon in the Middle Kingdom. “Dear You,” which grossed just $557,000 on its first day in Chinese cinemas, went on to gross more than $251 million at the local box office.
The drama is shot primarily in the Teochew dialect and is rooted in the cultural history of chaopi (letters and remittances exchanged between overseas Chinese immigrants and the families they left behind). The story interweaves themes of migration, memory, and intergenerational belonging, and was produced on a modest budget without big stars or spectacle to drive ticket sales.
The photo stars Li Si-tong, Wang Yan-tong, Wu Xiaoqing, Zhen Lunchi, Wang Xiaohui, and also features Thai actor Usha Seemkum.
CMC Pictures is one of the leading international distributors of Chinese-language films and the largest international theatrical distribution platform for Chinese films, having handled the international release of more than 120 titles to date. Its catalog includes “The Wandering Earth” series, “Ne Zha” series, “Detective Chinatown” series, “Successor”, “Lost in the Stars” and “Ip Man” series.
The deal with CMC follows another acquisition by Trinity CineAsia covering the UK, Ireland and France, and is the first of an international region planned by Damai Entertainment, which will include Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei from June 18th.
