It still hasn’t completed a month in release, but the Chinese mega-hitNe Zha 2is alreadyone of the highest-grossing films in global box office history. This weekend, the film hit another monumental milestone worldwide, as it expanded domestically.Ne Zha 2is also the highest-grossing film of 2025 by a wide margin and is set to challenge the three landmark hits of directorJames Cameron—Avatar,Avatar: The Way of Water, andTitanic— very soon.Ne Zha 2demonstrates just how massively the Chinese market has grown in the last decade or so, seeing as the vast majority of its haul has come from its home country.
With nearly $15 million domestically,Ne Zha 2has now passed the $1.9 billion mark worldwide. Of this total, over $1.87 billion has come from China alone, makingNe Zha 2the highest-grossing film in a single market. It’s alsothe biggest animated movie in global box office history, having recently overtakenInside Out 2’s $1.7 billion lifetime haul. Produced ona reported budget of just $80 million— for context,Inside Out 2cost a reported $200 million to produce—Ne Zha 2also has to be one of the most profitable films of all time.
During the course of its landmark run, the film has overtaken animated blockbusters such asThe Lion King,Frozen, all the Toy Story and Shrek films, every Despicable Me movie, and more. It has also outperformed all but three Marvel movies and all but one Star Wars film. According to the Chinese platform Maoyan,Ne Zha 2isprojected to gross over $2 billion in its lifetime run, which would automatically send it pastAvengers: Infinity WarandStar Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens.Ne Zha 2doesn’t have a Rotten Tomatoes score yet, but its audience rating on the aggregator website stands at a near-perfect 99%.
‘Ne Zha 2’ Is About to Swing Past a Fan-Favourite Marvel Movie
If it is able to meet projections,Ne Zha 2will find itself among the fivehighest-grossing films in history. It’s already the biggest foreign-language film ever made, and the biggest Chinese movie of all time. But before it overtakesInfinity WarandThe Force Awakens, it’ll beat the $1.92 billion lifetime haul ofSpider-Man: No Way Hometo become the second-biggest hit of the post-pandemic era. It’s worth noting thatNo Way Homewasn’t released in China. The highest-grossing film of all time remainsAvatar, with nearly $3 billion in global box office revenue.
You can watchNe Zha 2in theaters, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
