Box office hit ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ sequel to be shot in China

To one’s surprise box office smashing film “Crazy Rich Asian”, is not yet released in China, but the producers are warming up plans to shoot the sequel there, “China Rich Girlfriend”. The film was released in North America in August and in most Asian territories in September and October. Till now it has grossed $232 million worldwide, including $177 million in North America. It is slated for release in last week of November in China.

The revelation of the sequel shoot was made by Producer John Penotti, president of SK Global, in Los Angeles at the Chinese American Film Festival’s Co-Production Summit on 29th of October. He said that the ‘China Rich Girlfriend’ is targeting a shoot in Shanghai.

The sequel is going to be an adaptation of novelist Kevin Kwan’s second book in the “Asians” series. Set two years after the events of “Crazy Rich Asians”, the sequel is located substantially in China.

The title of “China Rich Girlfriend” is a reference to a line in the first movie where the Singapore rich mother, played by Michelle Yeoh, plays down her family’s wealth in comparison with others: “These people aren’t just everyday rich with a few hundred million. They are China rich.”

The delay in release for film in China was due to the prolonged approval process from the authorities, which often seemed in doubt, the film finally managed to obtained a November 30th release date for China. According to the film producer Penotti, no cuts have been requested by the censor and regulators in China.