“Ne Zha 2” Joins the $2 Billion Club, Strengthening China’s Animation Industry

On March 4, Chinese breakthrough animation, “Ne Zha 2” achieved what was previously thought impossible outside Hollywood: grossing $2 billion at the box office. And it did most of that – about $1.98 billion in its domestic market, China, alone.

The sequel to the 2019 hit “Ne Zha” made headlines earlier when it became the first non-Hollywood film to surpass the $1 billion mark at the box office. It also dethroned Pixar’s “Inside Out” 2 as the highest-grossing animated film of all time.

With a 37-day global total of $2.01 billion, including $15 million from the U.S., “Ne Zha 2” is now inching toward surpassing Avengers: Infinity War ($2.05 billion) to become the sixth highest-grossing film ever.

“Ne Zha 2 is slowing down, but still added $3.1 million…”, writes box office analyst Luiz Fernando on X.  “Ne Zha will keep crawling towards Infinity War’s $2.05 billion inifity milestone at the global box office for a few days to get there.”

While the film is far from James Cameron’s “Avatar” at the top of the all-time box office rankings, “Ne Zha 2” has cemented China’s animation industry on the global stage. The next big question is whether it can secure an Oscar win for Best Animated Feature.