BEIJING, March 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — iQIYI announced that its popular series The Bad Kids will be remade into a Japanese film version and named Gold Boy, the special edition poster of which was released at the Hong Kong International Film and Television Fair. To date, The Bad Kids and other Light On series have made successful overseas debut in multiple markets such as Australia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Vietnam, and have been well-received by global audience.
The film Gold Boy brings together an outstanding production team, including director Shusuke Kaneko, who is also the director of popular Japanese film Death Note, screenwriter Takehiko Minato, producer and the Golden Lion award winner Takio Yoshida, and lead actor Masaki Okada.
The Bad Kids was released in 2020 as a major installment of iQIYI’s Light On Theater. The drama became a massive hit after its release, receiving widespread acclaim from critics and viewers alike, both in China and in overseas markets. Of note, The Bad Kids was the first Chinese TV series Variety ever selected as The Best International TV Series in 2020, and the first Chinese drama to win the Mini-Series Silver Bird Prize at the Seoul Drama Awards 2021 and the award of “Best Creative” at Busan’s Asia Contents Awards. As Light On series goes global and becomes widely acclaimed in overseas markets, it is transforming perceptions of original Chinese content and further increasing their influence. This sets a milestone for Chinese dramas as they expand into new overseas markets and explore the global operation and distribution. At present, iQIYI is distributing thousands of episodes of C-content globally, as one of the leading suppliers of C-content to global markets.
Committing to enhancing monetization capability, iQIYI has developed projects in various formats from the high-quality IP in recent years. Previously, iQIYI has produced The Bad Kids drama, stage play, game, merchandise product and other entertainment forms based on the IP of The Bad Kids. On Jan. 18, 2023, iQIYI announced the launch of the game The Bad Kids on Steam. The game adds to the original plot elements of adventure, puzzle solving, and reasoning.
As iQIYI continues to explore new ways to bring Chinese entertainment content to a global audience, the company sees steady growth in overseas business. In the fourth quarter of 2022, iQIYI’s overseas membership revenue saw a 30% year-on-year increase. In particular, the number of subscribers in the United States and Canada grew by over 70%, showing strong viewing interest in premium content and especially iQIYI’s original drama series. In addition, according to one recent ranking released by data.ai, a mobile data and analytics firm, iQIYI’s international app was ranked No. 4 by overseas revenue among China’s non-game apps, outperforming other long-form video apps in February 2023.
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SOURCE iQIYI
