The Chinese animated phenomenon Ne Zha 2 has achieved milestone after milestone since its release about four months ago in China. As of writing, the following are the records it has already set:
- Highest-Grossing Animated Film of All Time
- Highest-Grossing Non-English Language Film of All Time
- First Animated Film to $2 Billion
- First to $1 Billion in a Single Market
- Top 5 Highest Grossing Globally
- Highest-Grossing Chinese Film of All Time
- Fastest Animated Film to $1 Billion
Now on its 14th week in China, it is slowly trying to unseat Titanic as the fourth highest-grossing movie of all time (not adjusted for inflation). Based on our sources, it has now reached $2.18B which puts the movie much closer to Titanic with about $2.26B. Our friends at Variety also reports that there is a plan to have a more serious marketing push for a dubbed release worldwide that will add more to its already amazing returns. Not to mention if they plan to re-release it in China with additional scenes in the next Chinese New Year, imagine how high it will go. In terms of critical succes, Rotten Tomatoes has given the film a fresh rating of 96% Tomatometer based on 23 reviews and an outstanding 99% Popcornmeter based on 1000+ reviews.
So how does it compare to Marvel Cinematic Universe movies both critically (RT) and financially? Let's take a peak and start from the highest reviewed movie to the lowest:
NE ZHA 2: RT: 96%; BO: $2.18+B
1. Black Panther: RT: 96% (=); BO: $1.3+B (<)
2. Avengers Endgame: RT: 94% (<); BO: $2.7+B (>)
3. Iron Man: RT: 94% (<); BO: $500+M (<)
4. Thor: Ragnarok: RT: 93% (<); BO: $800+M (<)
5. Spider-Man: NWH: RT: 93% (<); BO: $1.9B (<)
6. Spider-Man: Homecoming: RT: 92% (<); BO: $800+M (<)
7. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings: RT: 92% (<); BO: $400+M (<)
8. Guardians of the Galaxy: RT: 92% (<); BO: $700+M (<)
9. Spider-Man: Far From Home: RT: 91% (<); BO: $1.1+B (<)
10. Marvel's The Avengers: RT: 91% (<); BO: $1.5B (<)
11. Captain America: Civil War: RT: 90% (<); BO: $1.1+B (<)
12. Captain America: The Winter Soldier: RT: 90% (<); BO: $700+M (<)
13. Doctor Strange: RT: 89% (<); BO: $600+M (<)
14. Thunderbolts*: RT: 88% (<); BO: $100+M (<, ongoing)
15. Ant-Man and the Wasp: RT: 87% (<); BO: $600+M (<)
16. Avengers: Infinity War: RT: 85% (<); BO: $2.05+B (<)
17. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: RT: 85% (<); BO: $800+M (<)
18. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever: RT: 84% (<); BO: $800+M (<)
19. Ant-Man: RT: 83% (<); BO: $500+M (<)
20. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3: RT: 82% (<); BO: $800+M (<)
21. Captain America: The First Avenger: RT: 80% (<); BO: $300+M (<)
22. Captain Marvel: RT: 79% (<); BO: $1.1+B (<)
23. Black Widow: RT: 79% (<); BO: $300+M (<)
24. Iron Man 3: RT: 79% (<); BO: $1.2+B (<)
25. Deadpool & Wolverine: RT: 78% (<); BO: $1.3+B (<)
26. Thor: RT: 77% (<); BO: $400+M (<)
27. Avengers: Age of Ultron: RT: 76% (<); BO: $1.4+B (<)
28. Iron Man 2: RT: 72% (<); BO: $600+M (<)
29. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness: RT: 74% (<); BO: $900+M (<)
30. The Incredible Hulk: RT: 68% (<); BO: $200+M (<)
31. Thor: The Dark World: RT: 67% (<); BO: $600+M (<)
32. Thor: Love and Thunder: RT: 63% (<); BO: $700+M (<)
33. The Marvels: RT: 62% (<); BO: $200+M (<)
34. Captain America: Brave New World: RT: 48% (<); BO: $400+M (<)
35. Eternals: RT: 47% (<); BO: $400+M (<)
36. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania: RT: 46% (<); BO: $400+M (<)
Clearly, only Avengers Endgame has edged Ne Zha 2 in the box office but time will tell with a couple of re-releases and the mentioned dub release whether it can unseat the remaining 4 movies in the all time list. But as of right now, Marvel has a lot of catching up to do in terms of the quality of this movie and it will be exciting for us fans if they do.
The film about a demon boy raised by humans and strives to cultivate himself and protect the people around him from demons and gods. It has broken multiple box office records including the highest grossing Chinese film of all time, the highest grossing animated film of all time beating Inside Out 2, and placing within the top 5 highest grossing films of all time, beating the likes of Spider-man No Way Home, Avengers Infinity War, and Star Wars the Force Awakens.
The film is inspired by Chinese mythology with stories dating back to the 16th century under the title "Investiture of the Gods." He is a protection deity who is both heroic and rebellious in nature. For those familiar with Sun Wukong and the story of Journey to the West, Ne Zha was one of the warriors who faced him when he wrecked havoc in heaven.
With a reported $80M budget, the movie features breathtaking animation that took about 4,000 animators to make in 5 years with about 2,000 visual effects shots. The third act alone features about a reported 200 million individually animated characters.
Characters include Ne Zha, reincarnation of the demon orb, born to human parents Li Jing and Lady Yin in a fictional setting called Chentang Pass. He is guided by his master Taiyi Zhenren and along the way meets Ao Bing, a reincarnation of the spirit pearl and third son of Ao Guang, the Dragon King of the East Sea. Ao Bing, on the other hand, is trained by Taiyi's martial arts brother, Shen Gongbao. Newcomers in the movie are Wuliang, an immortal leading the Chan sect, Deero and Crana, lieutenants of Wuliang in exorcising the demons in the human world, Shen Xiaobao, Shen Gongbao's younger brother, Shen Zhengdao, their father.