Chinese Sensation ‘Ne Zha 2’ Overtakes Original ‘Inside Out 2’ As Highest-Grossing Animated Feature In A Single Market
The Chinese animated feature Ne Zha 2, which embarked on its record-setting box office run last Wednesday, is continuing to overperform in China’s theaters.
The film grossed an unbelievable USD$118.38 million on Tuesday, its seventh day of release, boosting its overall total to a massive $665.7 million. That total now makes it the highest-grossing animated film of all-time in a single market, pushing it past the U.S. gross of Disney-Pixar’s Inside Out 2, which picked up $652.9 million last year. (Correction (Feb 8, 2025): The original 2019 Ne Zha was the highest-grossing animated film ever in a single market, grossing $737.1 million in China. The point is moot now as Ne Zha 2 has surpassed both is predecessor and Inside Out 2.)
Although China’s moviegoing audience is significantly larger than the United States, ticket prices are also cheaper than American theaters. According to Chinese research firm Entgroup, the average ticket price for Ne Zha 2 is USD$6.85.
By tomorrow, Ne Zha 2 will surpass the original Ne Zha (2019) to become the highest-grossing animated film in Chinese history, as well as the country’s fourth-highest grossing theatrical release of all time. It is now all but guaranteed to become the highest-grossing film in the country’s history. The chart below illustrates the film’s remarkable performance against China’s other all-time earners.
Cumulative Boxoffice Comparison
🟤#哪吒之魔童闹海 #Nezha2
🟢#长津湖 #TheBattleatLakeChangjin
🟠#战狼2 #WolfWarrior2
🟣#你好李焕英 #HiMom
🔴#哪吒之魔童降世 #NeZha
🔵#流浪地球 #TheWanderingEarth#ChinaBoxOffice #BoxOffice pic.twitter.com/iPdb5Ojygf— 防弹松鼠 (@bulletproofsqui) February 4, 2025
Directed by Yu Yang, the nearly two-and-half-hour Ne Zha 2 is based on the classic 16th-century Chinese novel Investiture of the Gods. It is currently slated to launch in Australia and New Zealand on February 13, and in the U.S. and Canada on February 14:
