As of March 1, 2025, the global earnings of "Ne Zha 2," including presales, had exceeded 14.2 billion yuan (about $1.98 billion), exceeding the box office of "Spider-Man: No Way Home" and making it the 7th highest-grossing film in global box office history.

"Ne Zha 2" has shattered Hollywood's monopoly on the global box office rankings. CNN said in a report that the Chinese production is also the first non-Hollywood film to break into the all-time global top 20 of highest-grossing films. Variety reported that this year's biggest blockbuster (so far) isn't from Marvel, Pixar or James Cameron, but from China.

Children look at a poster for "Ne Zha 2" in a theater in Los Angeles County, the United States, Feb. 14, 2025. Chinese box office hit "Ne Zha 2" was screened on Friday in a limited theatrical release in North America. (Photo by Qiu Chen/Xinhua)

Apart from its success in China, the film has gained immense popularity overseas, with many fans pre-ordering tickets days in advance and lining up for premieres. Some fans even mentioned that they weren't previously interested in animation, but were drawn in by the film's strong reputation in China. Some overseas Chinese viewers were impressed by the spectacular battle scenes and expressed hope for Chinese films.

So what exactly made "Ne Zha 2," with its 138 animation companies and more than 4,000 crew members contributing to its production, so successful?

"For decades, China's movie market had been dominated by Hollywood blockbusters. But in recent years, homegrown titles – in genres from action and sci-fi to romance and animation – have increasingly outpaced Western films, a pivot fueled by rising cultural pride, more sophisticated storytelling and rapid technological progress," CNN reported.

The new generation of Chinese filmmakers and audiences believes that if China's talents are capable of turning the legendary stories they grew up with into high-quality films, then why do they need Western filmmakers to narrate Chinese stories?

According to a report of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Timmy Chih-Ting Chen, an assistant professor in cultural studies at Hong Kong Metropolitan University, said the impact of "Ne Zha 2" would go beyond the screen, as it disseminated the "uniqueness of Chinese culture" around the world. On Chinese social media, netizens hailed the film as a "historic moment of cultural confidence".

Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao reported that Chinese IPs are going global through films, TV shows, online games, online literature, and short videos, appealing to younger audiences. Themes from Chinese history, traditional culture, and classic literature, such as "Journey to the West," "Investiture of the Gods," "Classic of Mountains and Seas," and martial arts novels, have fueled breakthroughs in various forms of entertainment.

China's rich traditional culture offers an endless source of innovation, and Chinese creators have demonstrated their ability to tell compelling cultural stories. From last year's "Black Myth: Wukong," a game based on "Journey to the West," to this year's "Ne Zha 2," it is evident that China's cultural IP industry is maturing and expanding its global influence.