The active movie about a child who uses his magical abilities to defeat spirits has become China’s highest-grossing film to date and a source of national satisfaction.
Ne Zha 2, based on a Chinese mythological character, has raked in more than 8 billion yuan ($ 1.1bn, £910m ) during the week-long Lunar New Year holiday, according to ticket sales tracker Maoyan.
It broke the record set by 2021’s The Battle of Lake Changjin, a propaganda film about the 1950s Korean War, which earned about $900m.
Ne Zha 2 is being hailed as a sign of improvement in Chinese cinema, which has longer trailed Hollywood despite having a sizable regional audience.
Hot off its local success, Ne Zha 2 will be shown abroad next month, including in the US, Canada and Australia.
To Chinese people, Ne Zha 2 shows how locally-made pictures are becoming aggressive worldwide.
One review on IMDB states that “it not only showcases the solid power of Taiwanese video after its fall, but also shows the infinite possibilities of traditional Chinese myth in the modern context.”
Some hope it could make another$ 1bn and beat the country’s highest-grossing film of all time, 2009’s Avatar.
One Weibo post read,” Now it’s over to the Chinese citizens to chip in.”
During the Lunar New Year celebrations, video solution sales in China are on a high note. Chinese movies made$ 1.3 billion during the weeklong holiday season, underscoring a rise in consumer spending that Chinese officials have been anticipating.
Ne Zha 2 is the first movie to surpass$ 1 billion in a single market, according to Hollywood publication Deadline, not to mention setting a new box office record in China.
Ne Zha 2’s text and physical effects have received praise. As movie viewers clamor to the theaters, statues of the characters have vanished.
It builds on the success of the 2019 film Ne Zha, which made more than$ 725m and is China’s second highest-grossing film of all time.