China's 'Dear You' Sets June 18 Global Release via Damai
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- Damai Entertainment will handle the worldwide theatrical release of 'Dear You,' launching June 18 in Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Malaysia, and Brunei before expanding to 10+ additional markets including the U.S., Canada, U.K., France, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam.
- 'Dear You' has grossed more than RMB1.5 billion ($221.6 million) in China, placing it second on the 2026 annual box office chart behind 'Pegasus 3,' and holds a 9.2 Douban rating from over 700,000 users — one of the highest marks for a local Chinese release in over a decade.
- Director Lan Hongchun's family drama follows a young grandson who secretly travels to Thailand to find the grandfather who severed contact decades earlier, interweaving the contemporary story with 1950s Chinese diaspora life in Bangkok and the qiaopi remittance-letter tradition — a UNESCO World Memory Register entry.
- The film stars Li Sitong, Wang Yantong, Wu Shaoqing, Zheng Runqi, and Wang Xiaohui alongside Thai actor Usha Seamkhum, and marks Lan's third feature set in the Chaoshan cultural world after 'I Am Sure I Can' and 'Take Me to See My Mom.'
- Damai Entertainment, which rebranded from Alibaba Pictures in 2025, operates ticketing platforms Tao Piao Piao and Damai alongside the Beacon AI promotion and distribution platform, and has participated in the production and distribution of more than 300 films.
Why it matters: The international rollout positions Damai — freshly rebranded from Alibaba Pictures in 2025 — to capitalize on a proven RMB1.5 billion Chinese hit across 15+ markets, with the release testing whether a Teochew-language, diaspora-rooted drama can build a sustainable overseas audience beyond Greater China.
