Singapore is set to lift restrictions on non-Mandarin Chinese-language films for both theatrical releases and pay TV, following nationwide debate sparked by mainland Chinese breakout hit Dear You.
Prime minister Lawrence Wong made the announcement in his National Day Rally speech on Sunday (August 23). Commenting on culture and dialects, he acknowledged the discussions in Singapore sparked by Dear You and agreed with many who see dialects as a cultural heritage worth preserving.
“Currently there is a limit on the number of screenings of dialect films,” said Wong. “We will relax this rule. So long as a Mandarin-dubbed version is available, there will be no cap on the number of dialect screenings.”
Dear You was released in Singapore on June 18 with only a Mandarin-dubbed version available, in line with the city-state’s Speak Mandarin Campaign, which was launched in 1979 to promote Mandarin as the common language for the Chinese who came from different provinces across China and spoke different dialects.
Singapore distributor Clover Films applied to show the film in its original Teochew dialect and started with eight screenings. Due to overwhelming response, further original screenings were approved and it has since clocked more than 1,100 Teochew screenings, compared to 4,600 Mandarin screenings.
The film, which is still in cinemas, has earned a cume of $3.1m (S$3.9m) as of August 23, making it the third highest-grossing film in Singapore of 2026 to date, only behind Spider-Man: Brand New Day and The Odyssey, and the 20th highest-grossing Asian film of all time in the country.
“While there is no briefing yet from IMDA [Infocomm Media Development Authority] and MDDI [Ministry of Digital Development and Information], the new rule will allow unlimited screenings in their original language and give distributors much more possibilities,” Lim Teck, managing director of Clover Films, told Screen. “The biggest winner is the audiences who will have more choice moving forward.”
Clover Films released Hong Kong crime thriller Cold War 1994 earlier this year in a Mandarin-dubbed version, with only eight special screenings in its original Cantonese.
Lim added: “I look forward to playing Hong Kong films in their original Cantonese along with their Mandarin version such as Anselm Chan’s new film 1971 and upcoming Chinese New Year comedies.”
Acclaimed Singapore filmmaker Eric Khoo also expressed excitement over the new rule. “I grew up watching Hong Kong features in Cantonese and am so happy I can watch them again in their mother tongue,” he said.
“All my peers are happy with this development. Distributors will have much more flexibility in bringing dialect content. Local cinemas will get a boost as fewer Singaporeans will resort to going to Johor to catch dialect content.”
Johor Bahru in neighbouring Malaysia is linked to Singapore by a causeway. Singaporeans can easily make a day trip there for entertainment, shopping and dining. Malaysia does not restrict Chinese dialects in Cantonese films as long as they meet local censorship requirements.
However, Khoo told Screen that there is a concern: “For films that have no Mandarin-dub version at all, like festival indie titles, how restrictive will the sessions be?”
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