(Bloomberg) — Ne Zha 2 grossed more than $1 billion in China over its first 10 days in cinemas, setting the country’s new box office high mark.
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The blockbuster animated sequel surpassed 7.7 billion yuan in earnings as of Sunday, after its debut during the Lunar New Year festivities on Jan. 29, according to data from ticketing site Maoyan. Domestically produced and distributed, the film comfortably eclipsed the previous top movie, The Battle at Lake Changjin, and also pushed the original 2019 Ne Zha down into fifth place on the all-time list.
Chinese cinema is dominated largely by domestic titles recently, with only the occasional entry from blockbuster franchises like Avengers and Fast & Furious showing up as popular imports. With its immediate success, Ne Zha 2 is now on track to become the world’s highest-grossing film in a single market.
Shares of distributor Beijing Enlight Media Co. soared by more than 40% since Wednesday as the market digested the strong opening. Pre-orders for an art book tied to the film also skyrocketed across the country, while social network Weibo saw posts celebrating its success top of trending lists throughout the week.
The historic achievement of this new animated feature marks a rebound after the Chinese box office suffered a 23% decline last year. Ne Zha 2’s spectacular visual effects and resonant characters have helped its popularity spread through word of mouth and online social buzz. It’s also a boost for the Chinese government, which is striving to increase domestic consumption. Movies are seen as helpful to draw consumers out to shop, particularly as most cinemas in the country are located in malls.
China’s domestic creative industry is best known for its films in the action and history genres, but in recent times it’s been diversifying and elevating the quality of its output. Hollywood productions have to date struggled to gain a foothold in the market, as distributors face requests by Beijing to modify sensitive scenes or the timing of their release.
Even with the Chinese government’s agenda to boost the local film industry, the number of foreign films released in the country rose last year. That included Walt Disney Co.’s Deadpool & Wolverine, which was approved despite its irreverent and violent content. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire and Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron anime were in the top 10 most popular films in China in 2024, with Alien: Romulus just outside that top ranking.
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