Netflix has picked up Chinese sci-fi hit The Wandering Earth, which recently became the second highest grossing film of all time in China.
The film, which was released over the Chinese New Year holidays, will be made available by the streaming giant in 190 countries, excluding China where it is not allowed to operate.
According to ticketing platform Maoyan, the film’s mainland China box office currently stands at $606m (RMB4.08bn), making it the country’s second biggest film behind Wolf Warrior 2. It has also been released theatrically in North America, Australia and New Zealand.
Based on the novella of the same title by award-winning sci-fi writer Liu Cixin, the film is directed by Frant Gwo and stars Qu Chuxiao, Li Guangjie, Ng Man-tat and Zhao Jinmai with special appearance by Wolf Warrior 2star Wu Jing. It tells the story of a distant future in which the sun is about to expand into a red giant and devour the Earth.
The film is produced by China Film Group and Beijing Culture, which also produced Wolf Warrior 2and last year’s summer hit Dying To Survive.
“Netflix is committed to providing entertainment lovers with access to a wide variety of global content. With its high-quality production and story-telling, we believe that The Wandering Earthwill be loved by sci-fi fans around the world,” said Netflix manager of content acquisition Jerry Zhang.
Frant Gwo said: “I am glad that our movie can reach to people from different parts of the world. This is a Chinese movie created for the world, and it has been positively received since its premiere. To my surprise, this movie also resonates outside mainland China. Netflix will translate it into 28 languages, enabling more viewers to enjoy it regardless of geographical and linguistic differences.”