Chinese Comedy ‘Successor’ to Hit Global Screens Soon

“Successor,” a comedy film that has taken the Chinese box office by storm, is set to hit theaters around the world early next month.

The film’s rights have been secured by CMC Pictures, the Chinese studio that made the monster shark series “The Meg.” The film will be released in cinemas in North America, Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Benelux from August 2.

“Successor” tracks the ups and downs of a poor father and hard-working mother who live in a rundown backyard and seem to have fallen behind others on the road to prosperity.

The film was just officially released in Chinese theaters on Tuesday (July 16) and has grossed an estimated $21 million. But thanks to extensive preview screenings, it has grossed $89 million on its first day, topping China’s latest weekend charts. The film was shown more than 140,000 times in China on Saturday and Sunday.

Because “Successor” previewed on a Saturday, it did not appear on ComScore’s worldwide box office chart or weekend box office chart. ComScore did, however, acknowledge that the film grossed approximately $21.5 million during its Saturday previews and another $27.7 million on Sunday. Given these figures, “Successor” would be the third most successful film worldwide over the weekend, behind “Despicable Me 4” and “Inside Out 2,” even if it only had a two-day run.

The film is co-directed by Yang Fei and Peng Damo (“Hello, Mr Billionaire,” “Goodbye, Mr Loser”) and stars Shen Teng, Ma Li, Shi Pengyuan, Sa Lina, and Xiao Bocheng. It is produced by Zhang Lebin,Ma Chi,Tian Tian and Zhang Meng.

Films in China are mostly released on Fridays, but local distributors are known to be proactive in delaying release dates due to increased demand. “Box office pre-sales [in China] exceeded expectations, so the release was moved up,” a source close to CMC told Variety. “This movie is really hilarious. From every aspect, it’s expected to be a phenomenon.”

Chinese ticket agency Mao Yang expects “Successor” to continue doing well in the future. It more than doubled its forecast for the film’s potential total revenue from RMB 1.6 billion (US$220 million) to RMB 3.7 billion (US$513 million).

According to an official synopsis, “Ma Chenggang and Ma Chunlan, ride their donkey to work and see their son, Ma Jiye, as their only hope of turning their fate around. Jiye is very promising, excelling academically every year. He is tough and determined. But as Jiye grows up, he perceives that the people around him are becoming more and more strange.”

A list of production credits, which features many of the largest entertainment corporations in mainland China, may be found in Chinese sources. Among them are Wanda Media, Maoyan Weiyin Media, Ruyi Entertainment, Guosi Lianrui Film, Alibaba Film Culture, China Film Group, and Kaixin Mahua Film.