Chinese animated film Ne Zha 2 became the country’s highest-grossing film on Thursday, giving its box office a massive boost over the lunar new year holidays.
Ne Zha 2 is a sequel to the 2019 fantasy adventure Ne Zha, which follows a young boy born with unique powers who teams up with dragon prince Ao Bing to fight demons and save the very community that fears him.
The film series, written and directed by Jiaozi, is loosely based on a 16th-century novel, Investiture of the Gods, attributed to Xu Zhonglin.
Ne Zha 2 was released in cinemas for the Chinese lunar new year on 29 January. Most businesses and government offices close for an eight-day public holiday for the new year to enable people to travel home. The extended break likely contributed to the success of the film, which not only features a beloved Chinese mythological character but appeals to audiences of all ages.
Ne Zha 2 has collected ¥5.8bn (£640m) at the box office so far. In the first week alone, the film made ¥4.84bn (£534m), setting the record for the most money made by a single film in the new year period, which runs from 28 January to 12 February.
Driven by the success of Ne Zha 2, the Chinese box office saw the highest single-day collection of ¥1.8bn (£199m) across all releases on 29 January.
Other major releases in theatres that contributed to the earnings were Detective Chinatown 1900 and Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force.
Ne Zha 2 has already surpassed Ne Zha in total earnings and is well on its way to becoming the highest-grossing film ever not in the English language, beating 2021’s The Battle at Lake Changjin.
It has already overtaken The Battle at Lake Changjin as China’s biggest film ever. According to ticketing app Maoyan, the film is projected to make ¥8.7bn (£960m) in China alone.
If those projections are met, Ne Zha 2 would beat Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens as the highest-grossing film in a single market. The space opera film made $936.7m (£754m) in North America.
The numbers bode well for the Chinese film industry, even taking into account the fact that the lunar new year is generally one of its most lucrative periods. In 2024, total box office collections dropped 22.6 per cent from the previous year as a sluggish economy reportedly prompted moviegoers to stay home.
