"Dear You" Leads China Weekend Box Office Amid Market Decline

Jinant Film & TV’s family drama “Dear You” secured the top position on the Chinese box office for the June 5–7 weekend, generating RMB 115.3 million (approximately $17 million). The film’s cumulative gross now stands at $238.5 million. In second place, Zhonghe Qiancheng’s crime thriller “Vanishing Point” earned $2.5 million for the weekend, bringing its total to $75.6 million. Disney’s “The Mandalorian and Grogu” held third with $1.4 million (cumulative $12.1 million). Amazon MGM Studios’ “Masters of the Universe” opened in fourth with $1.2 million, while StudioCanal’s World War II drama “Pressure” opened in fifth with $1.1 million (total $1.2 million). Mainland China’s overall weekend receipts reached $27.8 million, and year-to-date revenue is $2.36 billion, a 42.3 % decline from the same period in 2025.

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“Dear You” is produced by Jinant Film & TV and directed by Lan Hongchun. The principal cast includes Li Sitong and Wang Yantong. The narrative follows Grandma Ye Shurou of Chaoshan, whose routine twilight years are disrupted when her indebted grandson travels to Thailand to locate a rumored billionaire grandfather. The investigation uncovers a fifty-year-old love affair and reveals that the recipient of Grandma’s traditional “Qiaopi” letters was a complete stranger. The runner-up “Vanishing Point” is directed by Cheng Wei-hao, stars Zheng Kai and Liu Haocun, and adapts Bei Baokang’s novel “Sea Anemone.”

Variety Magazine

The weekend’s total of $27.8 million and the YTD figure of $2.36 billion illustrate a broader contraction in China’s box-office performance, with revenue down 42.3 % compared with the same period in 2025. Despite this downward trend, “Dear You” accounted for the majority of the weekend’s total box-office receipts, indicating a strong market presence for the title.

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• “Dear You”: RMB 115.3 million ($17 million) weekend; $238.5 million cumulative.

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• “Vanishing Point”: $2.5 million weekend; $75.6 million cumulative.

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• “The Mandalorian and Grogu”: $1.4 million weekend; $12.1 million cumulative.

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• “Masters of the Universe”: $1.2 million opening.

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• “Pressure”: $1.1 million opening; $1.2 million total.

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• Overall weekend gross: $27.8 million.

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• YTD 2026 revenue: $2.36 billion, down 42.3 % YoY.

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The film is described as a low-budget cultural juggernaut, and its $17 million weekend gross placed it well ahead of other releases in the same period. The storyline’s focus on familial obligations, intergenerational debt, and the use of traditional “Qiaopi” correspondence underscores the film’s cultural specificity.

Variety Magazine

The current top-five list also includes the crime thriller “Vanishing Point,” Disney’s “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” Amazon MGM’s “Masters of the Universe,” and StudioCanal’s “Pressure.” Their combined earnings contribute to the modest weekend total, while the continued performance of “Dear You” will shape expectations for subsequent releases in the second half of 2026.

Variety Magazine