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What makes a movie popular enough to become one of the highest-grossing titles of all time? In the United States, it’s pretty straightforward. The top of the list ispopulated by Marvel,Avatar,Star Wars, and some Disney/Pixar franchise properties. It’s also easy to pick out when a new movie is predicted to net a big profit.But an animated flick from China is turning everything we know about high-grossing movies upside down.
China’sNe Zha 2has already shattered numerous box office records in the three weeks since its release. As of June 11, 2025, it’s the highest-grossing animated film, the highest-grossing Chinese film, and the highest-grossing non-English language film of all time. It ranks overall as the eighth highest-grossing film ever, with a huge $1.7 billion haul. That’s an impressive feat, especially when you consider that most American audiences did not know aboutNe Zha 2’s existence until its box office receipts were publicized. Its success is all thanks to its complete domination in its home country of China. But how did it manage to explode in popularity? And how many more box office records might come tumbling down?
‘Ne Zha 2’ Obliterates Box Office Records
So what isNe Zha 2all about? As the title implies, it’s a sequel to the 2019 filmNe Zha. The original flick was loosely based on the 16th-century novelInvestiture of the Gods.Ne Zhawas the feature debut of both its director and animation studio and was the first Chinese animated film to be released in IMAX. That first feature netted an impressive $742 million worldwide. It was a hit with both critics and audiences alike. With that success, it’s no surprise that a sequel was commissioned.
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Ne Zha 2was produced for 600 million Chinese yuan or about $83 million US. That’s actually lower than most big-budget US CGI-animated films. Audience demand only grew from the original, as the sequel netted 1.1 billion yuan in the three days after its June 12, 2025, release. That translates to roughly $150 million US. By day nine post-release, the total had climbed to 6 billion yuan or $825 million US.TheNe Zhafranchise’s popularity is attributed to its storytelling techniques, which combine traditional Chinese values with modern film conventions. On February 13,Ne Zha 2became the highest-grossing film in a single territory (viaDeadline). Its $1.37 billion (10 billion yuan) surpassed the $936 million thatStar Wars: The Force Awakensearned in the United States alone.
As of February 17,the worldwide grosssits at just over 12 billion yuan or $1.7 billion worldwide. That’s enough to place it eighth on the list of highest-grossing movies of all time. That’s the highestranking for both an animatedand non-US film. At this rate, it’s all but certain thatNe Zha 2will become the first-ever animated movie to reach $2 billion. Disney has to be seething right now. But how much farther could it go?
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In addition to the confirmed broken records, there are many more thanNe Zha 2has in its sights.It’s less than $600 million away fromAvatar: The Way of Water; knocking that off would catapult it into third place. From there, it’s a bit of a jump toAvengers: Endgame($2.8 billion) and the originalAvatar($2.9 billion). ButNe Zha 2is closer than halfway there. And after $1.7 billion in just three weeks, it could easily toppleAvatarin the coming weeks and months. If it does, it could be the first title ever to hit that long-elusive $3 billion milestone. With a decline in big-name tentpole flicks, any new film ever again reaching those heights was thought to be an impossibility.
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While just one example, this shows how popular foreign cinema can be. Most American audiences did not even know thatNe Zha 2was a thing until it was well past $1 billion. However, it actually did relatively well in the States. It debuted in Los Angeles on February 12, grossing $7.2 million over its first weekend in 660 theaters. Outside its niche audience, the film picked up more steam state-sidewhen it bumped offInside Out 2as the world’s most successful animated film.
That marked an unpleasant milestone for Disney, as this is now only the second time in history that one of their films is not the highest-grossing animated title. They set the record with the world’s first animated movie,Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,in 1937. A Disney or Pixar film hassat at the top ever since, save for an interruption by DreamWorks’Shrek 2from 2004 to 2010. But ifNe Zha 2continues to climb past $2 billion, it’s safe to say that Disney could potentially never reclaim the animated crown.
Social media is abuzz with rave reviews forNe Zha 2, and it’s safe to say that it made its mark on pop culture. It’s also ignited a fierce debate over the future of animation and whether Western culture should still be considered the dominant force. But when a movie so unknown in the US is able to take the world by storm, maybe there really is a shakeup in the highest spheres of animation.Ne Zha 2is in theaters now.
