Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Shoplifters (Manbiki Kazoku) is set for an Aug. 3 release in China, with Huayi Brothers distributing in cooperation with Road Pictures, which picked up rights for the film after its Palme d’Or triumph at Cannes.
Kore-eda’s legal drama The Third Murder was the Japanese director’s first film to get a Chinese release when it was screened by Road Pictures on the country’s newly developing arthouse circuit in March and April.
The involvement of Huayi Brothers, which is expanding its slate of Hollywood and other overseas films, should ensure Shoplifters gets a much wider release, a Gaga representative told The Hollywood Reporter.
The story of a dysfunctional family of petty criminals, Shoplifters just spent its sixth weekend in the box-office top five in Japan and has become the director’s biggest hit, bringing in $33.8 million (?3.8 billion) in its home market so far.
Kore-eda is currently in France preparing for his next film, Le Verite (The Truth), his first production overseas, which is due to start shooting in October.
