Ne Zha 2 Shatters Inside Out 2’s Box Office Record in Just 23 Days!

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Summary

  • Ne Zha 2 surpassed Inside Out 2’s global box office record in just 23 days.
  • Ne Zha 2 achieved a record-breaking $1.73 billion gross in a single market, China.
  • Ne Zha 2’s success was boosted by Captain America’s poor performance, positioning the film to compete with Hollywood giants.

It appears that the five-month reign of “Inside Out 2” as the top-grossing animation of all time has ended, usurped by the growing popularity of a Chinese animation sequel called “Ne Zha 2”.

On June 14, 2024, Inside Out 2 hit the screens worldwide, offering viewers another thrilling journey into Riley Andersen’s teenage mind and her contrasting emotions. This sequel from Disney and Pixar was a phenomenal success, raking in a staggering $1.69 billion at the global box office. It not only broke records to become the highest-grossing animated film of all time but also outperformed every other movie released in 2024, including Deadpool and Wolverine, and nearly doubled the earnings of its original with a gross of $858 million.

Ne Zha 2 Has Grossed $1.73 Billion in 23 Days

…and It Did So in a Single Market

In September 2024, the sequel to “Inside Out” set a remarkable record. However, just five months later, it was dethroned as the highest-grossing animated film of all time by “Ne Zha 2”. As reported by box office analyst Luiz Fernando on X, this Chinese blockbuster overthrew Pixar’s animation after earning $1.71 billion in its 21st day in Chinese cinemas; it currently stands at $1.73 billion. Impressively, “Ne Zha 2” surpassed the earnings of “Inside Out 2” primarily in the Chinese market.

Captain America: Brave New World’s disastrous performance in China is helping Ne Zha 2

Despite having a modest release in the U.S., playing only in 660 theaters, the film Ne Zha 2 managed to earn an impressive $10 million within six days. This sets a new record for Chinese releases and places it as the 18th highest-grossing non-English animated film in the market. Remarkably, this movie has achieved more than just success in the animation genre. It is now the first film to surpass $1 billion at the box office in a single market, outperforming the domestic gross of Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($936 million). Furthermore, it is predicted to become the first non-Hollywood production to reach $2 billion.

The Chinese audience has consistently loved the story of “Ne Zha,” a mischievous boy demon who battles dragons, as shown by the massive $742 million gross of the movie “Ne Zha” in 2019. On the other hand, “Captain America: Brave New World” struggled significantly in China, earning only $12 million in its first week and ranking fifth. This underperformance of “Captain America: Brave New World” helped boost the success of “Ne Zha 2,” as it essentially provided no competition at the box office.

The buzz about the sequel to the Chinese animation film, “Ne Zha 2,” is spreading rapidly in Hollywood and among English-speaking audiences worldwide, piquing interest as to how a non-Hollywood production could be so successful. It’s stirring national pride among its domestic viewers, who are eagerly mobilizing their massive population to surpass the $2.8 billion box office record set by “Avatar.” Although it might seem improbable at first glance, once “Ne Zha 2” reaches $2 billion (a milestone analysts predict could happen as soon as next week), it may challenge or even unseat the current box office champions—namely, “Avatar,” “Avengers: Endgame,” and the upcoming “Avatar: The Way of Water”—if it hasn’t already. Currently ranking eighth among all-time highest-grossing films, pushing out “Inside Out 2,” “Ne Zha 2” could climb the charts quickly. Could Pixar defy expectations with “Inside Out 3”?

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2025-02-21 00:16