What began as a modest regional release with minimal commercial expectations has become one of the most striking box office stories in contemporary Chinese cinema.
Dear You, a Teochew dialect film centered on overseas migration and family memory, was produced on a budget of just 14 million yuan and features an almost entirely non-professional cast. Initially allocated less than 2 percent of screenings during the May Day holiday period, the film appeared destined to remain a marginal release.
By 11.38am on Sunday (May 24), 25 days after its release, strong word of mouth and audience praise for its emotional restraint and authenticity had propelled the film past the 1 billion yuan box office mark, turning it into a nationwide cultural phenomenon.
Directed by Teochew filmmaker Lan Hongchun, the film draws on the history of qiaopi—letters and remittances sent by overseas Chinese migrants to families back home. Set against the upheaval of 20th-century Chinese migration, it follows Zheng Musheng, who leaves his hometown during the Chinese Civil War to escape conscription and eventually settles in Thailand after travelling through Southeast Asia.
The qiaopi he once sent home sustains his family through years of uncertainty, carrying their hope across distance and time.
Decades later, his grandson travels to Thailand in search of the family’s past, only to uncover a long-buried truth: the letters that sustained his grandmother were not written by Zheng. After his unexpected death abroad, a Thai-Chinese woman, Xie Nanzhi, quietly assumes his role, continuing to write letters and send remittances to the woman waiting in China. Her actions preserve a relationship built on absence, sacrifice and compassion.
Much of the film was shot in Shantou, where arcaded streets, ancestral homes and rural landscapes function as emotional extensions of the story rather than mere backdrops. Following the film’s unexpected success, the city has seen rising cultural tourism interest, with themed routes introduced to guide visitors through key filming locations including historic shophouses, clan residences and coastal villages.
At a time when commercial cinema is often engineered for instant impact, Dear You moves in the opposite direction—slow, restrained and accumulative. Amid an industry dominated by celebrity-driven productions and large-scale spectacle, it resonates through its intimate portrayal of migration, memory and human kindness.
By focusing on ordinary migrants and the emotional ties that endure across distance and time, the film suggests that compassion—even between strangers—can become a lasting form of connection and remembrance.
A source said overseas distribution plans are still under negotiation, with a potential release in Hong Kong.
