China's box office revenue so far in 2026 has surpassed 15.4 billion yuan (about 2.27 billion U.S. dollars), according to the latest data released Thursday by online platforms, with the low-budget family film "Dear You" emerging as a box office hit.
The Chaoshan-dialect film has continued to gain both critical praise and box office success since its release, topping the daily box office chart for 18 consecutive days.
The film has now entered the top four in the 2026 annual box office rankings with over 1.2 billion yuan (about 177 million U.S. dollars) in receipts.
The story draws on the history of "qiaopi," the letters and remittances sent home by earlier generations of overseas Chinese. The historical significance of these letters gained international attention when UNESCO added the "qiaopi" archives to its Memory of the World Register in 2013.
The film follows two women whose lives become quietly intertwined through 18 years of correspondence and care after one of their husbands dies while working overseas. The film explores themes of women's solidarity, emotional responsibility, and attachment to family, homeland and cultural roots.
Directed by Lan Hongchun, a native of the Chaoshan region in south China's Guangdong Province, and reportedly produced on a budget of just over 10 million yuan, the film has been widely praised for its emotional authenticity, grounded storytelling and unusually convincing performances.
The film currently holds a 9.1-out-of-10 rating on Chinese review platform Douban -- among the highest-rated domestic releases of the past decade.
The film is set to be released overseas in the coming days and has already secured orders from cinema chains in several countries.
With 2026 designated as the "film economy promotion year," the total output value of China's entire film industry chain has exceeded 240 billion yuan (about 35.4 billion U.S. dollars) so far this year.
China's box office revenues top 15.4 bln yuan so far this year
