How an $80-million ‘non-Hollywood film’ beat Disney, Pixar to become highest-grossing animated film, minted $1.9 billion | Hollywood

For decades, Hollywood films have sat atop the box office food chain. Courtesy of the soft power of American pop culture and the wide reach of most major studio-backed Hollywood films, these movies make significantly more money than any other industry on the planet. The biggest blockbusters rake in over a billion dollars each every year. And yet, this year, a tiny $80-million movie is not just the highest-grossing film of the year, but the highest-grossing animated film ever.

The highest-grossing animated film

Chinese film Ne Zha 2 has set the box office ablaze with record-breaking collections. A fantasy adventure film directed by Jiaozi, it is the third film in Enlight Pictures’ Fengshen Universe after Ne Zha (2019) and Jiang Ziya (2020).

Made on a budget of $80 million, Ne Zha 2 was released in theatres on 29 January, and in just four weeks, it has earned $1.92 billion. This has made it the highest-grossing Chinese film ever and also the highest-grossing animated film ever. In this list, it beat Disney and Pixar’s record-breaking Inside Out 2 ($1.69 billion). And Ne Zha 2 is not done yet. The film is still running in theatres across China, making it almost certain that it will cross $2 billion. That elite club has only 6 films so far.

Ne Zha 2’s record-breaking box office run

The film, like the two other instalments in the franchise, is loosely based on Chinese mythology and the 16th-century Chinese novel Investiture of the Gods. Its release coincided with the Chinese New Year, giving it a festive release push. Since then, it has beaten every Disney and Pixar film (Inside Out 2, The Lion King, Frozen 2, Minions, and many more) at the box office. It even eclipsed the Marvel films that released alongside it, beating Captain America: Brave New World by almost seven times despite a much lower budget. It is currently the seventh highest-grossing film of all, behind only the two Avatar films, Avengers: Endgame and Avengers: Infinity War, and Titanic and Star Wars Episode VII.