Ne Zha 2 has become a juggernaut at the Chinese box office and could end up being one of the biggest blockbusters of all time. Ne Zha 2 is a sequel to the 2019 animated film Ne Zha, and the third film in the Fengshen franchise. The 2019 film, the 2020 film Jiang Ziya, and the recently released Ne Zha 2 are all loosely based on the 16th century novel The Invesтιтure of the Gods, which is set in Ancient China and includes many gods and demons.
The story of the first Ne Zha movie follows the тιтular hero, who is recruited to fight demons. After the events of the first film, Ne Zha 2 sees Nezha and his ally, dragon prince Ao Bing, team up to fight sea monsters. Ne Zha 2 had an incredible opening at the Chinese box office over the Lunar New Year holiday, and could potentially become one of the highest-grossing animated movies of all time. Ne Zha 2’s mᴀssive box office haul could set many records that other movies will have a hard time beating for years to come.
Ne Zha 2 Had A Giant $434 Million Opening In China Over The Lunar New Year Holiday
Ne Zha 2 Has Already Become One Of The Biggest Chinese Blockbusters Of All Time
After box office numbers were down in China in 2024, Ne Zha 2 brought mᴀssive crowds to theaters over the Lunar New Year holiday. As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Ne Zha 2 earned $434 million across its first five days in theaters. After its widely successful first five days, ticketing app Maoyan projected that Ne Zha 2 could end up earning $944 million at the Chinese box office. If this ends up happening, Ne Zha 2 will become China’s highest-grossing blockbuster of all time, surpᴀssing The Battle at Lake Changjin.
After its 2021 release, The Battle at Lake Changjin made a total of $913 million at the Chinese box office. Therefore, Ne Zha 2 has a chance to make over $30 million more than it and comfortably position itself as the highest-grossing Chinese blockbuster ever. The first Ne Zha movie made a total of $726,225,470 at the worldwide box office (via Box Office Mojo). Therefore, Ne Zha 2 potentially beating its predecessor in just one market proves what a mᴀssive success the sequel is.
China’s Box Office For The 2025 Lunar New Year Topped $1 Billion Overall
China’s Box Office Is Currently Thriving
Along with Ne Zha 2, four other major releases ensured that the Chinese box office thrived over the Lunar New Year holiday. On top of Ne Zha 2’s success, films like Detective Chinatown 1900, Creation of the Gods 2, Boonie Bears: Future Reborn, and Legends of the Condor Heroes: The Gallants all found success at the box office in their opening weekends. One film finding success at the box office is not uncommon, but five films all having impressive opening weekends proves that the Chinese box office is currently flourishing.
These releases helped deliver a Chinese box office cumulative total of $1.24 billion for 2025.
As reported by Variety, Detective Chinatown 1900 made $133.9 million in its opening, whereas Creation of the Gods 2 made $41.2 million, Boonie Bears: Future Reborn made $26.8 million, and rounding out the top five, Legends of the Condor Heroes: The Gallants made $21.3 million. These releases helped deliver a Chinese box office cumulative total of $1.24 billion for 2025. This is a 234.1% increase from the same period last year, which is an extremely impressive statistic and bodes well for China’s 2025 box office results.
Ne Zha 2 Is Tracking To Break Several Chinese Box Office Records Now
Ne Zha 2 Is Competing With Films Like Moana 2 & Inside Out 2
While the four aforementioned films have had impressive earnings, Ne Zha 2 is clearly the standout box office earner in China right now. Ne Zha 2 is currently on track to break several box office records. In addition to having a strong chance at becoming China’s biggest blockbuster ever, it could also become the first film to ever earn $1 billion in a single territory. Maoyan projects it to make $944 million, but if Ne Zha 2 just earns $56 million more, it can pᴀss the $1 billion mark and set a record that has seemed impossible in the past.
Ne Zha 2 also became the fastest IMAX release to make RMB100 million in China, which equates to about $13 million U.S. dollars. The five-day opening for Ne Zha 2 also beat out Moana 2’s impressive $386.3 million opening in November 2024. Ne Zha 2 easily surpᴀssed Moana 2’s five-day opening, and also seems set to beat a record held by another 2024 animated film. Current projections suggest that Ne Zha 2 will become the highest animated grosser in a single market, beating out Inside Out 2, which earned an impressive $653 million in domestic markets.
When You’ll Be Able To Watch Ne Zha 2
Ne Zha 2 Is Being Released In Other Markets Soon
After dominating the box office in China, Ne Zha 2 is currently set to release in countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand on February 14, 2025. Therefore, Ne Zha 2 is being released in domestic theaters not long at all after its Chinese release. Ne Zha 2’s release schedule is thankfully much different from the first film in the series, which took about two months to be released in domestic theaters.
Ne Zha’s underwhelming domestic box office haul also suggests that Ne Zha 2 is not a threat to overtake Inside Out 2 as the highest-grossing animated movie of all time.
Even though Ne Zha 2 has been a huge success in China, it may not draw big audiences in domestic theaters. The first Ne Zha movie only made $3,695,530 at the domestic box office. This proves that domestic audiences are much less interested in the series. Ne Zha’s underwhelming domestic box office haul also suggests that Ne Zha 2 is not a threat to overtake Inside Out 2 as the highest-grossing animated movie of all time. Therefore, even though New Zha 2 is a huge success in China, it may not experience the same level of success in domestic theaters.
Sources: The Hollywood Reporter, Box Office Mojo, Variety
