Summary

Ne Zha 2 is breaking box office records with $2.15 billion globally.
The animation may struggle to surpass Avatar unless re-released.
The Chinese audience support could potentially push Ne Zha 2 past Avatar's record.

Ne Zha 2 is already nearing the end of the line at the box office. But slow and steady wins box office battles and the historic Chinese might only just overthrow another Hollywood heavyweight off the global charts.

The “Ne Zha” folklore — about an unruly demon boy who fights dragons — has always been insanely popular with the Chinese audience The first animation grossed $742 million exclusively in the Chinese market but the sequel, Ne Zha 2, shocked the global film community in the first quarter of the year by grossing an unprecedented $2 billion-plus and accumulating a string of records along the way. It’s the highest-grossing animated movie of all time, beating Inside Out 2’s record in just three weeks; the highest-grossing movie in a single market (China), after besting Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ $936 million domestic gross; and the first and only non-Hollywood movie to earn $1 billion or $2 billion at the box office.

Should Disney Be Concerned About Ne Zha 2's Smashing Box Office Success?

With Ne Zha 2 breaking all kinds of box office records, is there cause for the House of Mouse to be concerned in the long term?

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By Joshua Newby

According to Variety, Ne Zha 2’s eleventh weekend haul in Chinese theaters ranked third with $3.3 million bringing its domestic total to $2.11 billion. The leaders in the Chinese market didn’t earn much more. Local ensemble drama We Girls finished the weekend with $4.6 million and Warner Bros. And Legendary’s A Minecraft Movie grabbed just $200,000 less ($4.4 million). As of this writing, Ne Zha 2’s global total stands at $2.15 billion, which means the Cococartoon release is still lonely at the top of 2025’s box office charts — the next in line is A Minecraft Movie with $550 million — and just $73 million away from unseating James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water as the third highest-grossing film of all time.

Ne Zha 2 Would Need Incredible Legs or A Re-release to Surpass Avatar: The Way of Water

It Just Needs An Additional $73 Million

There was a time when Ne Zha 2 had a shot at going straight for the head: Avengers: Endgame and Avatar' s (2009) record. But with the animation now grossing less than $6 million weekly and the Chinese market’s weekly performance dropping from $52 million to $20 million, that chance is long gone. The American audience won’t be of much aid as well. Although it was granted a very limited showing in the U.S., with just 660 theatres, the film grossed $10 million in 6 days, which is a record for Chinese releases and the 18th highest for a non-English animation in the market. Currently, it has all but come to a halt.

All this is to say: Avatar: The Way of Water’s $2.320 billion is a long reach for Ne Zha 2, it would need miraculous legs to do that within its current release window. However, the keyword should be “for now.” What’s to stop Cococartoon from pursuing a re-release some months down the line, patching a bunch of added deleted scenes in it with the sole aim of ousting Avatar: The Way of Water? It’s a technique used by Avengers: Endgame and Avatar as one sought to best the other. The difference this time, though, is that Ne Zha 2 has the backing of the 1.3 billion Chinese audience who will certainly answer the call if it means making history once more.