Chinese Word-of-Mouth Hit ‘Dear You’ Expands International Journey with Thailand Release

Dragon Media News Desk

“Dear You,” one of China’s most unexpected box-office successes of 2026, has expanded its international journey with a nationwide theatrical release in Thailand beginning Thursday.

The modestly budgeted family drama, filmed primarily in the Chaoshan, or Teochew, dialect, became a major commercial success in China through strong audience recommendations and is now reaching a wider Southeast Asian audience.

According to Thai distributor Sahamongkolfilm International, the film opened across Thailand on August 6. Thai cinemas are offering screenings in the original Teochew language with Thai and Chinese subtitles, as well as a Thai-dubbed version.

Directed by Lan Hongchun, “Dear You” was released in the Chinese mainland on April 30. Without a major star-driven cast, blockbuster-scale budget or massive initial marketing campaign, the film gradually built momentum through strong word of mouth.

According to Xinhua, its domestic box-office revenue had exceeded 1.8 billion yuan by June 19, making it one of the year’s most remarkable theatrical successes in China.

At the cultural heart of the story is “qiaopi,” the letters and remittances historically sent home by Chinese migrants working overseas, particularly across Southeast Asia. Archives documenting this tradition were inscribed on UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register in 2013.

The story follows Xiaowei, a young man who travels to Thailand in search of his grandmother’s long-absent husband. His journey leads him to decades-old correspondence and gradually reveals a deeper family history shaped by migration, sacrifice, love and memories preserved across generations.

One of the film’s most distinctive elements is its commitment to the language and cultural environment of the Chaoshan region. Featuring largely little-known or first-time actors, it places emotional authenticity and everyday family experience ahead of conventional cinematic spectacle.

The film initially opened in China with relatively limited screening space, but strong audience recommendations helped drive a rapid expansion in both screenings and box-office performance.

Its release in Thailand carries particular significance because Southeast Asian migration is integral to the film’s narrative. Thailand’s large community of Chinese descent also gives the story’s themes of migration, family bonds and inherited memory a strong regional resonance.

The success of “Dear You” has become a notable example in the Chinese film industry of how commercial breakthroughs need not depend exclusively on large budgets, established stars or major franchises.

Its continuing overseas expansion also underlines the international potential of films that remain firmly rooted in local language and historical memory while telling human stories capable of crossing cultural boundaries.