A Story of Family, Letters, and Lifelong Sacrifice: Breakout Chinese Box Office Hit 'Dear You' Arrives in Theatres September 4《給阿嬤的情書》
Movie Information and Stills Courtesy of Well Go USA Entertainment
Written by Fête Chinoise Editorial Team (Kayla Lo).
Director & Screenplay: Lan Hongchun
Starring: Li Sitong, Wang Yantong, Wu Shaoqing, Zheng Runqi, and Wang Xiaohui
In THeatres September 4
A debt, a distant land, and a bundle of letters spanning decades these are the threads that weave together Dear You《給阿嬤的情書》, the critical and box-office sensation set to make its US and Canadian theatrical debut on September 4, 2026.
Following its acclaimed North American premiere at the New York Asian Film Festival, director Lan Hongchun’s multi-generational drama arrives as a poignant exploration of family devotion, sacrifice, and the enduring ties that bind the Chinese diaspora across generations.
What makes Dear You one of the most remarkable cinema stories of the year is its unexpected miracle at the box office. Produced on a modest micro-budget, anchored by a ensemble of early-career actors, and spoken almost entirely in the regional Teochew (Chaoshan) dialect, the film was not expected to compete against high-budget studio blockbusters.
Yet, upon its release, pure word-of-mouth momentum transformed it into an unprecedented cultural phenomenon. The film exploded to gross over 1.9 billion RMB (approx. $350M+ CAD) at the mainland China box office and earned an extraordinary 9.3 rating on Douban (China’s leading movie rating and review platform), making it one of the highest-rated domestic films in recent history.
Dear You follows a debt-ridden young man who travels to Thailand in search of the grandfather he believes abandoned their family years ago. Hoping the patriarch behind years of remittances and qiaopi (僑批)—historic letters and money transfers sent back by overseas Chinese—can pay his debts, he instead uncovers a long-buried truth of quiet sacrifice, unconditional love, and lifelong devotion.
At its core, the film honours the authentic linguistic and cultural heritage of Chaoshan migrants while offering a deeply moving narrative brought to life by its talented cast, including Li Sitong, Wang Yantong, Wu Shaoqing, Zheng Runqi, and Wang Xiaohui.
Director: Lan Hongchun 藍鴻春
Language: Teochew (Chaoshan) Dialect & Mandarin (with English & Chinese subtitles)
Starring: Li Sitong 李思潼, Wang Yantong 王彦桐, Wu Shaoqing 吳少卿, Zheng Runqi 鄭潤奇, Wang Xiaohui 王曉慧
Dear You Official Trailer
Teochew, Mandarin, Thai (with English & Chinese subtitles)
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