The Chinese animated film ‘Ne Zha 2’ concluded its five-month theatrical run in China today, establishing itself as the fifth highest-grossing film worldwide, amassing over 15.9 billion yuan (€1.883 billion). It follows ‘Avatar’ (€2.460 billion), ‘Avengers: Endgame’ (€2.375 billion), ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ (€1.950 billion), and ‘Titanic’ (slightly below €1.950 billion).
Premiering on January 29, the first day of the Chinese New Year—a peak season for cinema—’Ne Zha 2′ provided a much-needed boost for the film industry, following a 22.5% decline in revenue in 2024.
The film shattered records, becoming the first to surpass $1 billion (€850 million) in a single market. It is the most successful animated film to date—surpassing ‘Inside Out 2’—and the most-watched film in China, with 324 million tickets sold.
The film’s unprecedented success extended its usual one-month run in Chinese cinemas four times. Both ‘Ne Zha 2’ and its predecessor, ‘Ne Zha’ (2019), are based on a classic 16th-century Chinese novel, ‘The Investiture of the Gods’.
The storyline follows Ne Zha, a child with supernatural abilities, returning after presumed dead in the first film, to battle a mythological demon. His soul is reconstructed by deities using lotus leaves. Enlight Media, the production company, has vowed a third installment “with even higher standards” and is in talks with various Chinese cities to build theme parks inspired by the ‘Ne Zha’ universe.
According to The Numbers, 99% of ‘Ne Zha 2’s box office earnings came from the Chinese market, with the remainder from countries like Malaysia, Australia, and Singapore.
