Ne Zha 2, a new Chinese animated movie, has brought in $1.7 billion at the box office and dethroned Pixar’s Inside Out 2 to become the highest-grossing animated flick in history.
Released in January, Ne Zha 2 has been on a record-breaking run in China. Earlier this month the animated sequel became the first movie in history to cross $1 billon at the box office in a single market. The movie is currently only showing in mainland China and hasn’t been released internationally. It is also the first non-Hollywood movie to make more than $1 billion in ticket sales. And now it can add “Top-Grossing Animated Movie” to its growing list of records.
As reported by Deadline on February 20, Ne Zha 2 has now made ¥12.47 billion ($1.72 billion USD) at the box office in China since hitting theaters on January 29. That not only beats previous animated box-office champ Inside Out 2, but it also places Ne Zha 2 at number eight on the list of overall highest-grossing movies in history, above blockbuster hits like Top Gun: Maverick, Jurassic World, and The Avengers. The animated blockbuster, a sequel to 2019’s Ne Zha, is now projected to gross $2.08 billion in China. That would put it at number five on the highest grossers list, beating out Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Avengers: Infinity War.
If Ne Zha 2—an animated movie based on the 16th-century Chinese novel Investiture of the Gods—can reach $2 billion, it will make history as the first movie to ever do so in a single market. It would also be one of only seven films to achieve $2 billion at the box office.
Due to the film’s continued success, Ne Zha 2 will be sticking around in theaters for a bit longer. The movie has been given an extended run in China and will stay in theaters until March 30. It is set to release in Hong Kong later this week.
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