The Great Skull (2026): Cast, Story and Release Details

Prepared by Movies Dock Editorial

The Great Skull follows a university graduate and her quick-witted mother as they handle a difficult funeral complicated by a mysterious committee created by the family patriarch. This Chinese comedy-drama combines mourning, family tension and increasingly absurd circumstances in a 103-minute story.

The Great Skull is a Chinese comedy-drama about grief, family responsibility and the strange complications that can follow a death. The story centers on Gu Liyan, a university student nearing graduation, and her mother, Wu Kaidi, as they begin handling arrangements after the loss of Gu Liyan’s father.

Their already difficult situation takes an unexpected turn when a “Funeral Affairs Committee” secretly established by her father appears at their home. Directed by Liu Xiaoyang, the film uses an unusual funeral setup as the starting point for its family-focused story.

The Great Skull movie details

Story without spoilers

Gu Liyan is close to graduating from university when her father dies, leaving her to help her sharp-minded mother manage the practical demands of the funeral. The process becomes far more complicated than expected when people connected to a committee her father organized before his death arrive unexpectedly.

As unfamiliar guests, awkward circumstances and highly dramatic events disrupt the arrangements, Gu Liyan and her mother must find a way to face the situation together. The premise places their relationship and shared resilience at the center without revealing how the funeral unfolds.

What to expect

The film is identified as both a comedy and a drama, so its premise combines bereavement and family obligations with absurd situations and exaggerated complications. Much of the story’s setup comes from the contrast between the solemn nature of a funeral and the unexpected arrival of the secretly organized committee.

Viewers can expect a family-centered narrative led by a mother and daughter, with the emotional pressure of loss balanced against unusual guests and comic disruption. The supplied details point to a compact, character-driven story rather than an action-focused production.

Cast and creative team

Wen Qi plays Gu Liyan, while Ni Hongjie portrays Wu Kaidi, her sharp-witted mother. Yu Entai appears as Gu Weixing. The cast also includes Guo Junchen, Ge Xinyi, Fan Tiantian, Shao Feng, Chen Guanning, Yi Zhaobo and Song Zuer.

Liu Xiaoyang directs The Great Skull and shares writing credit with Zhang Xiaoying.

• Wen Qi as Gu Liyan
• Ni Hongjie as Wu Kaidi
• Yu Entai as Gu Weixing
• Guo Junchen
• Ge Xinyi
• Fan Tiantian
• Shao Feng
• Chen Guanning
• Yi Zhaobo
• Song Zuer

Release and production context

The Great Skull is a 2026 production from China, with Mandarin as its spoken language. It has a runtime of 1 hour and 43 minutes, or 103 minutes. The film is listed as released on September 5, 2026, and Maxtimes Pictures is the named production company.

Production companies: Maxtimes Pictures

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The Great Skull builds its story around a simple but disruptive question: what happens when funeral arrangements are complicated by a group the deceased created in secret? With Gu Liyan and her mother forced to respond to the situation together, the film presents grief through a comedy-drama framework shaped by family pressure and unexpected events.

Film data:
TMDB · IMDb