$400 Million in China Alone: Nezha 2’s Box Office Prediction Is Big Enough to Make Disney and Warner Bros Jealous
The direct sequel to the 2019 Chinese animated film, Nezha, is back again with Nezha 2 on 29 January 2025. The release coincided with Chinese New Year this year and it seems the audience couldn’t get enough of it. The film achieved an outstanding $135 million in the first two days.
Now rumors have it that if they keep this up, Nezha 2 will likely amass $400 million in China this weekend. Analysts are also saying it could be the first film to earn and surpass $1 billion in one market, a feat that no other animated film could even dream of.
The director, Jiaoxi, has broken stereotypes with the Nezha series. The first film in 2019 made $725 million and became one of the highest-grossing Chinese films ever.
This feat hasn’t happened with any other animated film, especially those more dependent on their worldwide acclaim like Disney or Warner Bros. Recently, Moana 2 achieved a global total of $386 million. However, these studios are going against Nezha 2’s domestic-only prediction of $400 million.
What are Nezha 2 and the Nezha series about?
The Nezha series is a unique take on the mythological protective deity, Nezha. It’s also loosely based on the classic 16th-century Chinese novel, The Investiture of the Gods, and one of the first major works to talk about the gods and demons in Chinese Buddhism.
In the first film, we witness Nezha fighting prejudices against his demonic nature and also help Ao Bing overcome his own by forming an unlikely friendship. While everyone else disapproves of it, they continue their alliance in Nezha 2.
In Nezha 2, the stakes are higher with the titular protagonist and Ao Bing fighting sea monsters to prevent the destruction of the world. The animation is as beautiful and emotional as the first. The first film earned 600 million yuan in the first two days, breaking Zootopia’s record of $235.6 million.
Will Nezha 2 reach $400 million this weekend?
According to a box office analyst on X, @meJat32, Nezha 2 will $400 million this weekend itself, meaning it will earn 3 billion yuan in the 5-day weekend in China, a feat no film has achieved domestically.
#NeZha2 China
— (charlie) (@meJat32) January 31, 2025
Wed – ¥487M
Thu – ¥479M
Fri – ¥615M
Total – ¥1.58B ($218M)
SAT sales presage a ¥700M+ (~$100M) day.
5-day weekend should be ~¥3B ($400M+) & 7-day holiday week could go as high as ¥4.2B+ (~$600M).
This will break Moana 2’s domestic record of $221 million during the Thanksgiving weekend as well as the global total of just $386 million.
Achieving $400 million within a 5-day debut is unprecedented, especially within a single market. Disney and Warner Bros. films could only dream of amassing this, rather than relying on a worldwide audience.
Despite having a significantly smaller budget than the 2023 Barbie, Nezha 2 has made waves by showcasing the brilliance of Chinese state-of-the-art animation and compelling storytelling. It isn’t just a word-to-word retelling of the protective deity. He’s more rebellious and defies the “obedient” God trope.
Nezha 2 also breaks the idea that sequels are inferior to the original. Chinese cinema is growing more popular and we hope to see it get more recognition with films like the Nezha series.
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