Chinese animated film Ne Zha 2 breaks box office records

Film follows a young boy with unique powers teaming up with a dragon prince to fight demons

Animated film Ne Zha 2 broke several records, including one held previously by Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, as it continued its domination in the Chinese box office 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 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 (Beijing Enlight Pictures)

Ne Zha 2 has now outstripped major Hollywood films to become not only the highest-grossing film ever in a single market worldwide, but also the first film ever to cross $1bn (£805.5m) in a single market.

In the first week of its release alone, Ne Zha 2 made ¥4.84bn (£534m) in China, 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.

Holding strong at the box office for the second consecutive week, Ne Zha 2 has managed to bring in a cumulative total of $1.11bn (£886m), according to Artisan Gateway. Earlier projections, which had put Ne Zha 2 firmly in place to beat 2015’s Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens as the highest-grossing film in a single market, were proved true this past weekend.

The space opera film made $936.7m (£754m) in North America.

Ne Zha 2 has already surpassed Ne Zha in total earnings and has also become the highest-grossing film ever not in the English language, beating 2021’s The Battle at Lake Changjin, which had earned $913m.

It overtook The Battle at Lake Changjin as China’s biggest film ever within the first week of its release.

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.