Enlight Pictures’ animated feature Ne Zha 2, released on January 29 for the Lunar New Year holidays, has become the highest-grossing Chinese film of all time, overtaking The Battle At Lake Changjin.
At the time of writing, Ne Zha 2 had taken $890m (RMB6.49bn), according to Maoyan figures, and was projected to end up at $1.48m (RMB10.8bn). The Battle At Lake Changjin, a nationalistic war film released over the National Day holidays in 2021, grossed $792m (RMB5.78bn). The first Ne Zha film, released in summer 2019, is China’s fifth highest-grossing film of all time with $690m.
Directed and written by Yu Yang, credited as Jiaozi, Ne Zha 2 continues the story of Nezha, a character from classic Chinese novel Fengshen Bang (Investiture Of The Gods), and his adventures with the dragon prince Aobing as they work with the deity Taiyi Zhenren to recover their physical forms.
The film accounted for around half of the Lunar New Year box office, which reached a record-breaking $1.3bn (RMB9.51bn) over the eight-day holiday period (January 28-February 4).
Beacon analyst Chen Jin told local media that the film’s success is due to it broad appeal – more than 30% of viewers attended cinemas in groups, especially families with young kids, but it also drew in the elusive 30-39 year old age group.
The second highest-grossing film over the holidays, Chen Sicheng’s Detective Chinatown 1900, currently has a cumulative gross of RMB2.58bn ($354m), while Wuershan’s Creation Of The Gods II: Demon Force, also based on Fengshen Bang, has passed the RMB1bn ($145m) mark. Other Chinese New Year releases include animation Boonie Bears: Future Reborn, Tsui Hark’s Legend Of The Condor Heroes: The Gallants and Dante Lam’s Operation Hadal.
The strong holiday box office provides some relief to the Chinese film market, which saw receipts decline by 23% in 2024, and may encourage local investors back to the industry. But the market is becoming increasingly dependent on key holiday box office periods, among which Lunar New Year is by far the biggest.