Ne Zha 2, record-breaking Chinese animated film, is the real deal

Published: 6:15pm, 20 Feb 2025
4/5 stars
Animated blockbuster Ne Zha 2 arrives in Hong Kong this weekend following a month-long siege of the mainland Chinese box office that shows no sign of abating. The film has run up domestic and international box office records. With ticket sales of over 12.3 billion yuan (US$1.7 billion) and counting, it is not only the most successful Chinese film in history but the most successful animated movie ever and the highest earner in any single market, obliterating the previous record of US$936 million held by Star Wars: The Force Awakens in the United States. Like Ne Zha from 2019, Ne Zha 2 is adapted from Xu Zhonglin's classic 16th century novel Investiture of the Gods , which also served as the source material for this season's Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force .
A 144-minute barrage of mythological mayhem, Ne Zha 2 bombards its audience with a cavalcade of supporting characters, side quests, infantile humour and eye-popping animation that is by turns exhilarating and exhausting. Director Yang Yu , better known as Jiaozi , picks up the action immediately following the events of the first film, continuing the adventures of the eponymous pint-sized demi-demon (played by Joseph Cao).

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