Hit 2014 Korean comedy Miss Granny has already been remade for China and several other countries, and is now getting the transfer treatment in English and Spanish.
Korea powerhouse CJ E&M has unveiled a plan to jointly produce the English-language re-do with Tyler Perry’s 34th Street Films and the Spanish take with Eugenio Derbez’s 3pas Studios, according to local reports.
“Targeting multiple territories by localizing one source for each region is a new strategy that hasn’t been done even in Hollywood, so CJ’s outreach has been noted by major Hollywood studios,” said Mike Im, senior vp international sales and distribution at CJ.
The original Korean film, directed by Dong-hyuk Hwang, was the No. 5 title of 2014 with about $55M in box office.
Miss Granny received a Chinese-language adaption, 20, Once Again!, in 2015, which became the highest grossing Korea-China joint venture at about $60 million. In February, a Vietnamese version of the family comedy, Sweet 20, grossed $4.76 million to become the highest grossing local film of all time. The Thai remake will hit local theaters later this month while the Indonesian version is currently in post-production for an early 2017 release.
Hong Si-wan, Seoul