The Ne Zha phenomenon: Biggest animated film of all time heading to European cinemas

Ne-who now?  

Ne Zha – a series inspired by the 16th-century Chinese novel "Investiture of the Gods", which combines elements of history, tales of gods and demons from Chinese folklore and plenty of mythology.  

The films follow how a pearl with spiritual energy is split into the Spirit Pearl and the Demon Orb. The first one is set to be reincarnated into the world as a demon-slaying hero, while the second is fated to be destroyed by heavenly lightning. In comes Ne Zha, who was supposed to be reincarnated as the hero but ends up being reborn as a demon. He must wrestle not only with his nature, but also his preordained fate as he embarks on a quest to obtain an elixir to restore the body of the dragon prince Ao Bing.  

Sounds like a lot, but it’s all rather straightforward when you watch the first film. It’s basically all about a wee scamp with an overbite battling demons while defying fate and offering a sly commentary on how the concepts of good and evil aren't determined by origin. 

Now that you’re all caught up, time for the records.

The 2025 sequel, written and directed by Jiaozi, has made history.

The Chinese animated epic has become the highest-grossing film of all time in China, the highest-grossing animated film worldwide (surpassing Pixar's Inside Out 2), the first non-English language film to gross $1billion, and the first non-Hollywood production to crack the global all-time top 10 box office chart.  

Still with us? 

Ne Zha 2 currently ranks as the sixth highest grossing film of all time behind Avatar, Avengers: Endgame, Avatar: The Way of Water, Titanic and Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

It was released in China on 29 January and it passed the $2bn mark over the weekend. At the time of writing, it currently sits at $2,056,003,774 (for reference, Inside Out 2 has a worldwide gross of $1.69bn) and looks set to surpass Star Wars: The Force Awakens soon. Especially since Trinity CineAsia has secured theatrical distribution rights for Ne Zha 2 across 37 European territories - including the France, Germany, Spain, Ireland and the UK – where it’ll debut on 21 March. 

“Rarely do you get a film that truly defines the era, shows again the unique power of cinema to move audiences, and makes an indelible mark on culture. This is ‘Ne Zha 2,'” said Cedric Behrel, managing director of Trinity CineAsia. “It signifies a major turning point in further establishing Trinity CineAsia as a pan-European distributor.” 

An indelible mark on culture that has been fuelled by nationalism in its native country, as Chinese fans came out against Marvel’s Captain America: Brave New World to ensure Ne Zha 2’s box office supremacy.  

Fans have taken to social media to disparage Ne Zha’s main rival, with a popular slogan online being: “I don’t care if Ne Zha 2 can survive overseas, but Captain America 4 must die in China.” 

Ouch.  

“It’s not Captain America that’s dying, but America that’s dying”, one online post read. “In reality, the US does not have superheroes and the US is not a peace-loving, peace-defending beacon for humanity.” 

Ouch again.  

Captain America: Brave New World has only taken a total of $370million globally so far, and he’s probably feeling red, white and very blue right about now. 

Ne Zha 2 is coming to a cinema near you very soon.