KUALA LUMPUR, June 6 — Surprise hit indie family drama film Dear You is making its way to Malaysian cinemas after recently crossing the 1.5-billion-yuan (RM893.37 million) mark at China’s box office.
Since its release on April 30, the film, which is in full Teochew dialect, is also well underway to becoming the second highest grossing film of the year in China — and according to local cinema operator GSC, Dear You is set to be released in Malaysia on June 18.
The film will also be coming to TGV cinemas; however, the local cinema operator has yet to disclose the release date.
Dear You follows the story of a debt-ridden grandson who travels to Thailand searching for his long-absent, supposedly rich grandfather.
He later finds out his grandfather has passed away and realises that the Qiaopi or remittance letters sent home to his grandmother over the decades actually came from an unknown woman in Thailand.
The film also offers a rare glimpse into the Qiaopi tradition practiced by earlier generations of Chinese labourers who were forced to migrate to South-east Asia in the 19th century due to poverty.
The Qiaopi tradition was inducted into the Unesco Memory of the World Register back in 2013.
【THE WAIT IS OVER“Dear You” Hits M’sian Cinemas 18 June】
The heartwarming film that touched countless audiences—Dear You, is finally coming to Malaysia!
One of 2026’s most talked-about and moving films, Dear You tells a story of love, longing, and connection… pic.twitter.com/Gf0GUg9eh9
— GSC (@GSCinemas) June 5, 2026
From unknown actors to word-of-mouth success
According to portal China Daily, Dear You is directed by Lan Hongchun, a native of the Chaoshan region in Southern China’s Guangdong province, who made the film with a budget of just over 10 million yuan, which is being praised for its grounded and authentic storytelling.
More interestingly, the film garnered success purely from word of mouth and public recommendations, and it does not feature any A-list celebrities.
In fact, almost all of the cast are first-time actors including its leading actress Li Sitong, who was a 20-year-old finance student at the time of filming.
Lan told Chinese portal The Standard that 90 per cent of the film’s plot was based on real-life stories and he and his team spent three years developing Dear You, which included interviewing over 120 elderly people in Chaoshan who experienced the South-east Asia migration.
Meanwhile, Screen Daily reported that the film opened moderately with 3.77 million yuan on April 30.
However, by the end of its third week of screening, due to strong word-of-mouth, it reached 510 million yuan, surpassing crime thriller Vanishing Point and high-profile Hong Kong action flick Cold War 1994.
It has also surpassed other major Hollywood releases in Mainland China such as Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu and The Housemaid.
The film, which currently holds a 9.1 rating out of 10 on the Chinese review platform Douban, also managed to surpass the 1 billion yuan (RM598.58 million) threshold on June 1 and by June 4, the film had already grossed over 1.5 billion yuan.
Going global
Following its unexpected success, entertainment portal Deadline reported that Damai Entertainment (previously known as AliBaba Pictures) has announced the global rollout for Dear You.
Aside from Malaysia, the film will also be making its way to Hong Kong, Macao, Singapore and Brunei on June 18, followed by releases in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, France, Ireland, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam and other markets.
Dear You marks the third film directed by Lan who has worked on a couple of other Teochew dialect family drama films including Proud of Me (2018) and Back to Love (2022).
