By Zainab Shafiq 
“Ne Zha 2,” a Chinese animated blockbuster film, has officially set itself in place as the highest-grossing animated movie of all time, beating Disney’s “Inside Out 2.” The animated movie, which is set in a world where a rebellious deity fights against dark powers after his village is razed, has gained massive popularity among audiences in China and other places.
Based on the state-run Xinhua News Agency citing figures from ticketing site Maoyan, “Ne Zha 2” has generated over 12.319 billion yuan ($1.72 billion) in box office. The feat was achieved just 20 days since its January 29 release over the Chinese New Year celebrations, ranking it among the top 10 highest-grossing films in the world.
What makes Chinese movie Ne Zha 2 highest-grossing animated film ever?
The movie’s swift ascension to popularity did not end there—it knocked out past homegrown blockbusters such as “The Wandering Earth” and “The Battle at Lake Changjin” within nine days. It also emerged as the first foreign film to pass $1 billion at the box office in a single market, an historic feat that highlights Chinese movies’ expanding influence on a worldwide scale.
Released abroad several weeks ago, “Ne Zha 2” is likely to repeat its success worldwide. The makers of the film have borrowed much from China’s classical folklore, specifically the 16th-century novel “Investiture of the Gods,” drawing on a tide of nationalistic pride and cultural sentiment.
This achievement is consistent with President Xi Jinping’s cultural imagination of establishing China as a 2035 cultural powerhouse. President Xi Jinping encouraged greater confidence to promote classic Chinese tales to the global world, and that was what “Ne Zha 2” set out to realize through its sophisticated animation and plot.
With this feat, “Ne Zha 2” stands to be a trendsetter for world animation, demonstrating how non-Hollywood productions can connect with the global market and break records.
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