China Snow Flower and the Secret Fan returned 9.9× its production cost, earning $1.3M against a $134K budget — one of the highest-return China films in our catalog.
Synopsis
A story set in 19th century China and centered on the lifelong friendship between two girls who develop their own secret code as a way to contend with the rigid cultural norms imposed on women.
The 2010–2012 China Window
98 China films released in this three-year window, ranked here by audience rating. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan sits at position #63.
The 2010s China Landscape
Catalog density by release year in the 2010s. Highlighted year (yellow) is when Snow Flower and the Secret Fan premiered. 515 total titles in this decade from China.
Budget & Box Office Efficiency
At a 1h 44m runtime, production spent $1K per minute on screen and earned $13K per minute back.
Reception Benchmarks
Ranked #718 of 946 China films indexed here (24th percentile by TMDB audience score).
Rating is -0.7 points below the China average of 6.7/10.
Among China Drama productions specifically: #448 of 547 (top 82%).
Production Details
| Primary Country | China |
|---|---|
| Original Language | En |
| Spoken Languages | Mandarin, English |
| Production Companies | IDG China Media |
| Runtime | 1h 44m |
| Release Date | July 15, 2011 |
| IMDb | tt1541995 |
| Official Site | www.foxsearchlight.com |