Another 70 'Dear You' Teochew screenings added in Singapore following overwhelming public demand

SINGAPORE: Another 70 commercial screenings of the Chinese box-office hit Dear You have been added in Singapore following overwhelming demand for its original Teochew-language version, with tickets going on sale on 2 July 2026.

The expansion was announced by distributors Clover Films and Golden Village (GV) on 1 July, less than a week after nearly 14,000 tickets for 40 additional public screenings were sold out within three hours on 29 June.

Additional screenings announced

According to Golden Village, tickets for all 55 screenings at its cinemas went on sale at 12pm on 2 July 2026 through its online booking platforms and at all Golden Village cinemas islandwide.

Tickets for 15 screenings at Shaw Theatres are being released in two phases.

Screenings scheduled for 4 July went on sale at 12pm on 2 July, while tickets for screenings from 5 to 8 July will be released at 10am on 3 July through Shaw's online booking channels and cinemas.

The remaining 30 screenings will be held as special community screenings in partnership with grassroots and community organisations.

Strong demand continues

The expanded commercial run will take place from 3 to 12 July across nine cinema locations, including the newly added GV Bugis+, GV Cineleisure, Shaw Lido and Shaw JEM.

The Online Citizen visited GV Bugis+ on 2 July and observed queues forming before ticket sales opened at 12pm.

Many of those waiting were elderly patrons.

Meanwhile, customers attempting to purchase tickets online experienced lengthy virtual queues.

Checks by TOC showed estimated waiting times of nearly one and a half hours on Golden Village's online booking platform shortly after sales opened.

In contrast to the strong demand for the Teochew-language version, bookings for the Mandarin-dubbed screenings appeared significantly slower, with many seats still available across several sessions.

Distributor welcomes response

"The enthusiastic response to the Teochew-language screenings of Dear You has been truly heartening," Clover Films managing director Lim Teck told state media CNA.

"We are pleased to expand the showcase with additional screenings across more cinemas to meet audience demand. We hope the film continues to spark conversations across generations and encourages more people to embrace and preserve our culture."

Earlier, Clover Films said it had applied to the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) to add 100 more Teochew-language screenings after the initial wave of public screenings attracted overwhelming demand.

Film continues to drive cultural discussion

Dear You opened in Singapore on 18 June after achieving major commercial success in China.

The film was initially approved only in its Mandarin-dubbed version for commercial release, while the original Teochew-language edition was limited to special screenings.

Public demand for wider access prompted authorities to approve additional screenings and later signal a more flexible approach towards future dialect-language film applications.

In a joint statement issued on 25 June, IMDA and the Ministry of Digital Development and Information said they recognised the strong public interest generated by both the Mandarin and Teochew versions of the film.

Earlier, on 22 June, the ministry also said it remained open to facilitating further Teochew-language screenings if distributors submitted additional applications.

Directed and co-written by Lan Hongchun, Dear You follows two interconnected storylines, including a grandson searching for his long-lost grandfather in present-day Thailand and a young man who leaves China for Southeast Asia during the 1940s in search of work.

The film has become one of China's biggest box-office hits this year, grossing more than 1.91 billion yuan (approximately S$360 million), while its Singapore release has also performed strongly.

Since opening on 18 June, the film has collected S$1.1 million at the local box office within 11 days.

Of that total, S$910,000 came from the Mandarin version, while the Teochew-language screenings contributed S$190,000 despite their comparatively limited availability.