With globalization, audiences have access to more films from every continent. With the proliferation of foreign films, the Chinese entertainment industry has had to gather more stories for the big screen allowing for a diverse collection of representations. Here are the top ten remade Chinese movies inspired by foreign films:
1. Sheep Without A Shepherd
Released: 5 December 2019
Director: Sam Quah
Box Office: $199.2 million
Inspired from: Movie Drishyam (Malayalam)
Genre: Crime, Thriller, Drama
Plot:
A man takes desperate measures to save his family from the injustice and police hard-handedness after they commit an unexpected crime.
2. Endgame
Released: 12 February 2021
Director: Rao Xiaozhi
Box Office: $ 117.75 million
Inspired from: Key of Life (Japanese movie by Kenji Uchida)
Genre: Action, Comedy, Crime
Plot:
Chen XXiaomeng is a theater actor whose career and life are in shambles. He tries to attempt suicide but fails. When he visits a local bathhouse, he accidentally causes a man to lose his memory and decides to take on his identity but discovers that he was an assassin. He gets forced to take on the assassin's missions and gets entangled in messy and complicated ways.
3. 12 Citizens
Release: 15 May 2015
Director: Xu Ang
Box Office: CN2.07 million
Inspired by: Twelve Angry Men (American Drama) by Reginald Rose
Genre: Crime, Drama
Plot:
A controversial case breaks out where a young man from a rich-adopted family murdered his birth father. An experiment was held in the form of a virtual court inside a college to discuss the topic. During the process, 12 Chinese people got together and discussed the case like a jury. The main character asks complex and thought-provoking questions for people to begin to think critically. People from different classes commence a discussion about the common mistake we make when judgments and prejudices enter the picture. The movie sheds light on social issues and tries to provoke an alternative perspective through conversations. It is a comedy film that is serious in content but entertaining in form.
4. Everybody's Fine
Released: 1 January 2016
Director: Zhang Meng
Box Office: $3.71 million
Inspired from: 1990 Italian Drama by Giuseppe Tornatore- Everybody's Fine
Genre: Drama
Plot:
This remake is an emotionally stirring film that shows a widower's visits to his four children who live in different cities. It reflects an intimate look at the struggles of the young generation in a nation transitioning from a collective past to a materialistic future.
5. What Women Want
Released: 3 February 2011
Director: Chen Daming
Box Office:
Inspired by: What Women Want (American film 2000) by Josh Goldsmith, Cathy Yuspa, and Diane Drake
Genre: Romantic, Comedy
Plot:
Due to a freak accident, Sun Zigang, an ad agency creative director, gets the ability to hear women's thoughts. It helps him when he gets a new competition with Li Yilong.
6. My Love
Released: 30 April 2021
Director: Han Tian
Box Office: $114 million
Inspired by: the 2018 South Korean film On Your Wedding Day
Genre: Romantic, Comedy
Plot:
During high school, Zhou Xioaqi falls in love with You Yougci, a transfer student. But the girl leaves without even saying goodbye. After 15 years, he still remembers and pines for her.
7. Bride Wars
Released: 20 August 2015
Director: Tony Chan
Box Office: $27.6 million
Inspired from: 2009's American black comedy Bride Wars
Genre: Romance, Comedy
Plot:
Two brides-to-be keep their friendship at stake when they battle it out for the perfect wedding scheduled on the same day.
8. Beautiful Accident
Released: 2 June 2017
Director: Ho Wi Ding
Box Office: $1.6 million
Inspired by: the 2015 South Korean film Wonderful Nightmare
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Plot:
A single and career-driven lawyer dies prematurely in a car crash but returns to life for a week as a wife and mother of 2 children before she can take on the role of a lawyer again.
9. First Time
Released: 8 June 2012
Director: Han Yan
Inspired by: the 2003 South Korean film "...ing."
Genre: Romance, Drama
Plot:
A girl suffers from a neuromuscular disease that her father died of, and the medication causes her memory to lapse. But despite that, she dreams of becoming a ballet dancer. She meets a boy who got family problems and wants to become a rock band singer.
10. Only You
Released: 24 July 2015
Director: Zhang Hao
Box Office: $10.71 million
Inspired from: 1994 American romantic comedy Only You
Genre: Romance, Comedy, Drama
Plot:
A woman, unhappy with her fiance, travels to Italy and finds her true love, but all she knows about him is his name.
