| Lighting Up The Stars | |||||||||||
| Native Name: |
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| Director: | Liu Jiangjiang | ||||||||||
| Screenplay: | Liu Jiangjiang | ||||||||||
| Producer: | Han Yan | ||||||||||
| Cinematography: | Zhao Yuqing | ||||||||||
| Distributor: | China Film Co., Ltd. | ||||||||||
| Runtime: | 112 minutes | ||||||||||
| Country: | China | ||||||||||
| Language: | Mandarin | ||||||||||
| Budget: | $8 million (including marketing and promotion) | ||||||||||
| Gross: | $253.8 million | ||||||||||
Lighting Up the Stars is a 2022 Chinese drama film written and directed by Liu Jiangjiang, starring Zhu Yilong and Yang Enyou. The film follows the story of a mortician released from prison who meets an orphan during a funeral, which unexpectedly changes his attitude towards career and life.[1]
The film premiered in China on 24 June 2022. The total box office of the film is 1.712 billion yuan, ranking the 4th in China's 2022 box office list.[2]
Mortician Mo Sanmei (played by Zhu Yilong) meets orphan Wu Xiaowen (played by Yang Enyou) during a funeral shortly after his release from prison. With reluctance, Mo takes care of Xiaowen and this decision burdens Mo further on top of his existing life problems. After a series of mishaps, this unlikely father-daughter pair develops a special relationship, and it changes how Mo views his job as a mortician and life.
Liu Jiangjiang began to write the screenplay in 2019, which was inspired by the funeral culture in north China.[3] read Liu Jiangjiang's drafts and gave notes for improvement.[4]
Lighting Up the Stars began production on 27 May 2021, in Wuhan and finished filming on 1 August.
Lighting Up the Stars was slated for release on 2 April 2022 (Qingming Festival), but was postponed to 24 June 2022.[5]
| 2022-06-24 | Mainland China | 529,022 | $253,770,000[6] | |
| 2022-08-04 | Australia | 44 | $42,191[7] | |
| 2022-08-04 | New Zealand | 12 | $6,877 | |
| 2022-08-05 | Canada | Limited | ||
| 2022-08-05 | United States | Limited |
| 2022-08-26 | IQIYI, Tencent Video, Youku, Mango TV, Xigua Video | Mainland China | ||
| 2022-09-24 | Netflix | Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam[8] | WEEKS IN TOP 10: 3 weeks in Hong Kong, 1 week in Malaysia, 1 week in Singapore, 6 weeks in Taiwan, 1 week in Thailand, 3 weeks in Vietnam.[9] |
Douban, a major Chinese media rating site, gave the drama 7.3 out of 10.[10]
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Golden Rooster Awards | November 13, 2022 | Lighting Up the Stars | [11] | ||
| Liu Jiangjiang | |||||
| Yang Enyou | |||||
| Best Cinematography | Zhao Yuqing | ||||
| Best Sound Recording | Wang Gang/ Liu Xiaosha | ||||
| Best Editing | Zhu Lin/ Wei Yong/ Gaoqiong Jiali | ||||
| Asian Film Awards | March 12, 2023 | Best Newcomer | Yang Enyou | [12] [13] | |
| Best Screenplay | Liu Jiangjiang, Yu Min | ||||
| Best Editing | Zhu Lin, Wei Yong, Gao Qiongjiali |