‘Inside Out 2’ was the biggest movie of 2024, but it is no longer the highest grossing animation of … More
Disney’s Inside Out 2 has lost its title of the highest-grossing animated film of all time to a little-known movie which played in less than a quarter of all theaters in North America according to industry analyst Box Office Mojo.
With total takings of $1.7 billion, Inside Out 2 didn’t just make more money than any other movie last year but also became the highest-grossing animated film of all time. Remarkably, it didn’t hold that record for long.
In just the past few weeks, Disney’s blockbuster was knocked off the top spot by the most unlikely of rivals. Called Ne Zha 2, the Chinese computer-animated movie is made by publicly-traded Beijing Enlight Media and played in just 945 theaters in North America when it opened in February, compared to 4,440 for Inside Out 2.
Based on a book inspired by Chinese mythology, Ne Zha 2 tells the story of Ne Zha, a demon child raised by humans who is hunting for a magical potion to reanimate his friend, the dragon prince Ao Bing, whose body has been destroyed by a lightning strike. The movie is the sequel to 2019’s Ne Zha, which itself made an impressive $726.2 million at the box office and ended on a cliffhanger, increasing anticipation for the sequel. Thanks to gorgeous graphics, spellbinding battle scenes and a hefty dose of symbolism, Chinese cinemagoers have streamed through the turnstiles in their millions to watch it.
In February, Ne Zha 2 overtook Inside Out 2 and has since surged to a total of $1.9 billion at the box office, comfortably making it the highest-grossing movie of the year so far. Despite all the hype surrounding A Minecraft Movie, it has only made around a third of Ne Zha 2’s tally.
‘Ne Zha 2’ has been a huge hit at Chinese cinemas (Photo by Chen Yehua/Xinhua via Getty Images)
China accounts for almost all of Ne Zha 2’s takings and the movie has only grossed $20 million in North America, a staggering 90 times less than it made in its home country. Likewise, it only grossed $2.2 million in Europe, where it has been on limited release, though it has broken records in the region according to Cedric Behrel, managing director of distributor Trinity CineAsia.
“The release of Ne Zha 2 in Europe has been extraordinary,” he told Variety. “We only started about a month ago, and it’s already become the highest grossing Chinese film in Europe in 20 years.”
Globally, Ne Zha 2 is the ninth highest-grossing movie of all time and it is closing in on eighth-placed Spider-Man: No Way Home which made just $22.9 million more. It may not be long before it beats it.
At the recent Beijing International Film Festival, Catherine Ying, president of distributor CMC Pictures, revealed plans for an English-dubbed version of Ne Zha 2 featuring “well-known” voice actors. She added that this will be accompanied by “targeted TV advertising and social media including YouTube and TikTok,” along with a “bigger marketing budget” to reach non-Chinese audiences.
It remains to be seen if this will have a magic touch as the movie relies on knowledge on the first film which was hardly shown Europe. In contrast, the original Ne Zha dethroned Disney’s Zootopia to become the highest-grossing animated film of all time in China whilst the sequel went one better and is the best-performing film in Chinese cinema history.
‘Ne Zha 2’ has become a cultural phenomenon in China (Photo by Tong Yu/China News Service/VCG via … More
It has become a cultural phenomenon and, according to the Guardian, luck has played a part in this as Ne Zha 2 was released in January over the lunar new year holiday, when many families make their only annual trip to the movie theater. However, once it became a word-of-mouth hit, local authorities and businesses jumped on the bandwagon leading to everything from themed cocktails in bars to hairdressers offering discounts to customers with tickets to the movie. The movie’s star is seen as China’s new national hero and there could be more to come.
It has been suggested that China could ban Hollywood movies in retaliation for America applying 145% tariffs on imports from the country. If the Chinese go ahead with that, then theaters in the country will have to shine an even brighter spotlight on local movies.
