Alibaba Pictures has bought the rights to produce a remake of the Russian comedy Kholop.

It will be done in Chinese.

According to the agreements reached, the new film will be released in China in 2023-2024.

“Kholop” is a universal story with cultural and social codes understandable for different countries.

I think the story is most relevant for regions with a strong stratification between the rich and the poor.

China is just such a territory, ” Denis Zhalinsky, general producer of Yellow, Black and White, commented on the news about the deal to RT.

He noted that the film touches on the eternal theme of the relationship between fathers and children, education and re-education, which also respond well in all countries.

“The interest in history confirms that we have found an actual problem, understandable in different languages,” the producer emphasized.

Alibaba Pictures is one of the largest Chinese film production companies.

As a producer and investor, she released such films as "Gemini", "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2", "The Wandering Earth", "Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation", "Mission Impossible: Consequences" and others.

The original version of Kholop was produced by Yellow, Black and White, MEM Cinema, GPM KIT Group of Companies (Gazprom-Media) with the participation of the Rossiya 1 TV channel.

The film was supported by the Cinema Foundation.

"Kholop" became one of the most discussed paintings by Klim Shipenko, who later visited the ISS, where he filmed the drama "Challenge".

The roles in the film were played by Milos Bikovich, Alexandra Bortich, Ivan Okhlobystin, Alexander Samoilenko, Maria Mironova and others.

According to the plot, the main character, a modern major named Grisha, wakes up in the 19th century.

Now he is not a rich heir, tired of his father with ugly antics, but an ordinary groom serving a Russian master.

Over time, the circumstances of what happened are revealed to the viewer: Grisha's parent organized a production in the scenery of a Russian village of the century before last.

Thus, he hopes to re-educate a negligent son.

  • © Shot from the film "Kholop"

The original version of Kholop was released on December 26, 2019 and immediately showed outstanding results at the box office: on the first weekend, the box office of the film exceeded 300 million rubles.

However, the bulk of the box office came in 2020 - this year the tape earned 2.696 billion out of 3.072 billion rubles and topped the rating of the most successful Russian films in the history of domestic film distribution.

Previously, this place was occupied by the sports drama "Moving Up".

Speaking about the reasons for the success of Kholop, director Klim Shipenko singled out several factors: humor, plot, cast, picturesque places, good weather.

According to the director, it is these elements that make up "a unique world in which people plunge again and again with pleasure."

“You can’t say that the viewer went, because it’s funny, for example.

Funny, but not only.

A lot of things have to match.

People didn’t just go to the film, but watched it several times, told their friends who don’t go to the cinema,” Shipenko believes.

According to experts interviewed by RT, the popularity of the tape could be affected by the release time (New Year's Eve) and a successful "neighborhood": in the same period, mainly domestic films were released, including the less easy-to-perceive "Invasion" by Fyodor Bondarchuk and "Union of Salvation" Andrey Kravchuk.

“During the holidays, the mood is festive, everyone wants to have fun, watch something that prolongs the festive state.

The choice for the viewer was unambiguous, ”said film critic Roman Grigoriev.

The audience, in turn, paid special attention to the non-vulgar and universal humor, which was understandable to both adults and children, including “social jokes”.

The audience also liked the acting, the "dashingly twisted" and unpredictable plot, the historical flavor, the reality show effect and Andrey Malakhov's cameo.

“Kholop”, it seems to me, is a very successful comedy.

I watched the movie and I know all these jokes - I find it funny.

I think that the author did a very good job, ”Milos Bikovich, who played the main role in the film, noted in an interview with RT long before the release.