Chinese film Dear You has started its overseas theatrical rollout after gaining a strong word-of-mouth following in Chinese mainland. Its first international releases began on June 18 in Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei. This is the start of a wider global rollout aimed at both overseas Chinese audiences and international viewers.

At the heart of the story is "qiaopi," a tradition of letters and remittances exchanged between overseas Chinese workers in Southeast Asia and their families back home. The film follows a young boy who travels to Southeast Asia to uncover a family mystery linked to these letters. He finds that messages his grandmother believed were from her late husband were actually written by a woman who once owed him a debt of gratitude. The discovery changes how he sees love, loyalty and responsibility across generations.

Most of the story is based on real-life accounts. The director spent three years researching and visited many families across Southeast Asia and Europe. The film was shot entirely in the Teochew dialect and used mostly non-professional local actors. With a modest budget, it has a grounded, almost documentary-like style.

Despite its scale, Dear You has performed strongly in Chinese mainland, grossing over 1.86 billion yuan (about $270 million). It holds a 9.3 rating on Chinese review platform Douban and is widely regarded as one of the highest-rated recent Chinese social realist films.

According to CCTV News, after its Asian release, it is set to open in Australia and New Zealand on June 25, followed by the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Japan on June 26.

The film also screened at the market section of the 79th Cannes Film Festival, where its quiet emotional tone drew interest from international distributors. It is often noted for its focus on familiar human experiences of family and separation, without relying on heavy explanation.