A chorus of praise is being sung around Ne Zha 2, the Chinese film about a mythical boy who battles demons, which has been newly crowned the world’s highest-grossing animated film of all time.
The box office triumph of the film – which has raked in 12.3bn yuan (KSh. 219.7B) – triggered a huge swell of national pride across the country.
The film, directed by Yang Yu (aka Jiaozi), was released in China on January 29 for the Lunar New Year holiday. It is loosely based on a classic Chinese myth and is set after the events of the previous 2019 film.
It centres on the titular boy with magical powers and his friend Aobing as their souls are saved but their physical forms face dissolution. Aided by the immortal Taiyi Zhenren to reconstruct their bodies, the heroes face numerous challenges (including a bevy of sea monsters) as they attempt to overcome a crisis that threatens the existence of humankind.
NZ2 is already China’s highest-grossing film of all time, as well as the only film ever to cross $1B in a single market.
The film also went up against Marvel’s Captain America: Brave New World and lost. According to the BBC, the fourth movie of the superhero franchise is seen as Ne Zha 2’s rival.
“I don’t care if Ne Zha 2 can survive overseas, but Captain America 4 must die in China,” reads a popular slogan that has been repeated on multiple posts on social media.
In Chinese news outlets and social media, people are gloating over the lacklustre performance of the American blockbuster at China’s box office. Of the $92m (KSh. 11.8M) the film has made outside the US, only $10.6m (KSh. 1.3B) has come from China, Hollywood’s largest overseas market.
“It’s not Captain America that’s dying, but America that’s dying,” reads the title of an essay on an online forum analysing the movie’s lack of appeal in China.
The author goes on to argue: “In reality, the US does not have superheroes and the US is not a peace-loving, peace-defending beacon for humanity.”
One cinema in Sichuan province reportedly decided to hold off screenings of Captain America 4 in its theatres “in order to support Ne Zha 2”.
Ne Zha 2 is being hailed as a symbol of progress in Chinese film and a sign that domestic productions can rival Hollywood blockbusters at the box office.
