South Korean Film 'Miss Granny' to Get English, Spanish Language Remakes

Tyler Perry Studios' 34th Street Films will co-produce the U.S. version of the comedy drama, which has already been remade in six Asian languages.

South Korean film Miss Granny will receive remakes in English and Spanish, CJ Entertainment announced Monday.

With six Asian renditions already under its belt, the two additional remakes will make Miss Granny "the world's most adapted film" with a total of eight versions, according to the Korean entertainment giant.

CJ Entertainment will join forces with Tyler Perry Studios' 34th Street Films and 3Pas Studios to co-produce the English and Spanish versions of the comedy-drama, respectively. The two productions are to undergo careful script development and casting procedures for a 2018 release. 34th Street Films is known for such movies as the Oscar-winning 2009 drama Precious and the current horror flick Boo! A Madea Halloween.

Melissa Finell will pen the English script, according to Kendrick Tan from Madhouse Entertainment.

3Pas Studios is a production house headed by Mexican actor-director Eugenio Derbez, and the Spanish-language version will target the Latin American community within the U.S. as well as across Central and South America. Pantelion Films, a Latino Hollywood studio backed by Televisa and Lionsgate, will distribute the title.

"Targeting multiple territories by localizing one source for each region is a new strategy that hasn't been done even in Hollywood, so CJ's outreach has been noted by major Hollywood studios," said Mike Im, CJ senior vp international sales and distribution.

Miss Granny, which grossed $51.74 million in Korea in 2013, centers on a grandmother who magically wakes up in her 20-year-old body again. She forms a band with her oblivious grandson in order to realize her unfulfilled dreams of becoming a singer.

The film went on to receive remakes in Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, Indonesian, Indian and Japanese.

Miss Granny received a Chinese-language adaptation, 20, Once Again!, in 2015, which became the highest-grossing Korea-China joint venture at about $60 million. In February, a Vietnamese version of the family comedy, Sweet 20, grossed $4.76 million to become the highest-grossing local film of all time. The Thai remake is set to hit local theaters later this month, while the Indonesian version is currently in postproduction for an early 2017 release.

Nov. 7, 2:12 a.m. Updated with additional information from Madhouse Entertainment.