iQiyi has sold 10,000 Miles to five territories, the Chinese online streaming giant said Monday during the Asian Film Market. The South Korean event is the first regional trading zone for iQiyi since it made its market debut at Cannes earlier this year.
The romantic drama, directed by Simon Hung, has sealed deals with distributors across Korea, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia and Singapore, said iQiyi's sales rep Bryce Tsao. Company names have been not revealed at this point.
Executive produced by Taiwanese superstar Jay Chou, 10,000 Miles is about a competitive high schooler trying to join the track team like his older brother. Romance blooms as he receives the help of a senior student. Darren Wang, Sean Huang and Megan Lai play lead roles.
iQiyi launched the international rights sales for the film in Busan along with Unexpected Love, a romantic comedy starring K-pop stars Krystal Jung of f(x) and Zhang Yixing (a.k.a. Lay) of EXO in the lead roles.
"Both titles have been receiving a lot of attention from buyers and we expect to conclude some deals here," said Tsao. "We have a range of titles, from our very own self-produced content such as web series, web films and variety shows to Mandarin-language films that we acquired for international rights."
Since the first quarter of 2016, iQiyi's paid subscription rate crossed 20 million, surpassing other competitors to top the Chinese market, according to Tsao.
The Asian Film Market wraps Tuesday, while the 21st Busan International Film Festival continues through Saturday.