Chinese Movie Ne Zha 2 Breaks 20 Year Old Record After Becoming Highest-Grossing Animated Movie Of All Time

Ne Zha 2 has now broken a 20-year-old record for animated movies. The Chinese-language movie is the sequel to 2019’s Ne Zha, a film which made over $726 million at the worldwide box office. Now, the sequel has made headlines for becoming the first 2025 release to make over $1 billion at the box office. The vast majority of its revenue comes from China, where Ne Zha 2 has set a box office record for the highest-grossing movie ever to be released in the country.

As per Variety, Ne Zha 2 has now blown past yet another record. Adding $15.2 million to its total IMAX gross this weekend, the film has become the highest-grossing animated IMAX movie of all time. To achieve this feat, it beat the record previously held by the 2004 version of The Polar Express. Now, its cumulative IMAX haul sits at $131 million, making it the ninth-highest-grossing movie in IMAX overall.

What This Means For Ne Zha 2

Ne Zha 2 Beat Inside Out 2 As The Highest-Grossing Animated Movie

Embarᴀssment, Anxiety, Envy and Ennui stand at the dashboard in Inside Out 2

This latest achievement adds on to the list of box office records the animated film has received. Last week, Ne Zha 2 became the highest-grossing animated film of all time, beating out Inside Out 2. Now, it sits ahead of the Pixar sequel by a sizable margin, with a $1.89 billion gross worldwide. Inside Out 2 sits around $200 million behind it, at $1.698 billion.

Ne Zha 2‘s box office takehome is impressive, not just in the animated sector, but among films in general. Its near $2 billion gross positions it as the no. 8 highest-grossing movie of all time. It is closing in on Spider-Man: No Way Home for the no. 7 spot, and could even beat Avengers: Infinity War if it manages to pᴀss the $2 billion mark. It is worth noting that Ne Zha 2 has blown past these records incredibly fast, breaking the IMAX animated record in just 26 days. As such, it is likely that it will beat more records.

Our Take On Ne Zha 2’s Latest Record

Ne Zha 2 Is Breaking Records At A Crazy Clip

While pᴀssing Inside Out 2 was an impressive feat, this latest IMAX record might be even more stunning. Unlike Inside Out 2, which was the animated champ for a mere 7 months before being dethroned, The Polar Express held its record for over 20 years. This highlights just how dominant and efficient Ne Zha 2 has been at the box office. It started out with a bang and has continued on with sizable momentum as it almost rounds out its first full month in theaters.

Source: Variety