'Ne Zha 2': Chinese animated film shatters box office records as it heads overseas
A Chinese animated film has become the country’s highest-grossing movie of all time, stoking national pride and potentially setting more records as it premieres overseas.
BEIJING — A Chinese animated film about a mythical child with a punk attitude and superpowers has become China’s highest-grossing movie of all time, stoking national pride and potentially setting more records as it premieres overseas.
“Ne Zha 2” has earned almost almost $1.3 billion in the two weeks since it was released in mainland China, according to the Chinese ticketing platform Maoyan. In addition to being the most successful film in Chinese box office history, it is the first non-Hollywood film to earn more than $1 billion and the first film in the world to earn more than $1 billion in a single market.
The movie is set for a limited release in the United States starting Friday.
Inspired by a famous Chinese legend, “Ne Zha 2” tells the story of a child deity named Ne Zha who rebels against his destiny and uses magical powers to protect his community from formidable enemies. It’s the sequel to a hit movie released in 2019 that became the highest-grossing Chinese animated film at the time.
Chinese moviegoers have showered the new film with praise, taking pride in the fact that it is entirely Chinese-made, from the director to the special effects and postproduction teams.
Rating: 5