“A Letter to Grandma” Triumphs in Malaysia: RM1.2 Million Box Office in 2 Days

The Chinese Chaozhou dialect film “A Letter to Grandma” officially debuted in Malaysian cinemas on June 18. In just two days after its release, box office earnings have already surpassed RM1.2 million, marking an impressive start.

With a production cost of only about 14 million RMB (approximately RM8.56 million), the entire film is shot in the Chaozhou (Teochew) dialect and features almost exclusively amateur actors, yet it has unexpectedly become a box office dark horse. After its release in China, word-of-mouth fueled its ongoing popularity, with both box office figures and reviews soaring. The cumulative box office has now exceeded 1.8 billion RMB (around RM1.1 billion), with a Douban rating as high as 9.3, setting a recent record for high-rated Chinese drama films and making it one of the most talked-about phenomenon-level works in China this year.

Now, as the film rides its momentum into the Malaysian market, audience response is equally enthusiastic and its box office performance remains strong, raising high expectations for the future.

The film is set in the Chaozhou region and centers around a “Qiaopi” (letters and remittances sent by overseas Chinese to their family back home), weaving a story of caring, familial bonds, and steadfast waiting that spans over half a century. The story follows a grandson who, carrying a collection of cherished family letters, travels to Thailand to seek out his grandma's lost relatives, only to discover that the “grandpa” who corresponded with his grandma for years had already passed away. In fact, over more than a decade, the letters and remittances had actually been sent by a complete stranger—a woman living in another land.

More than 90% of the film’s events are drawn from true experiences of overseas Chinese, and the story is told in authentic Chaozhou dialect, delicately portraying the emotional bonds and weight of time endured by Chinese migrants and their families separated by mountains and seas against the backdrop of migrating “to the South Seas.”

The Malaysian version also retains the original Chaozhou audio, supplemented by Chinese, Malay, and English subtitles. The sincere storytelling and delicate emotional expression have resonated strongly with many local viewers, continuing the film's widespread acclaim following its Chinese release.