Photo: ticketing platform Maoyan

Chinese animated film Ne Zha 2 made global history as the world’s highest-grossing film in a single market on Friday. It beat Star Wars: Episode VII – TheMK sports Korea Force Awakens, which made $936.7 million in North America. As of 10 pm on Friday, Ne Zha 2 had made box office revenue of 6.82 billion yuan ($940.7 million), according to ticketing platform Maoyan.

The animated fantasy adventure film topped China’s box office chart after overtaking the previous record holder, 2021 war epic The Battle at Lake Changjin, on Thursday.

“This news is not only encouraging for Chinese animated films and Chinese filmmakers, but also injects confidence into the global film market,” Lai Li, a data analyst with Maoyan, told the Global Times on Friday. “It proves there is much potential to explore inspiration from our traditional culture and builds our confidence for more of our own animation.”

As a sequel to the 2019 fantasy adventure Ne Zha, the story of Ne Zha 2 is also inspired by ancient Chinese novel Investiture of the Gods. It follows a young boy who is born with extraordinary powers.

The film made its debut in cinemas on January 29, along with other films including Detective Chinatown 1900 and Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force. They helped China’s Spring Festival season box office revenue to reach a new high of 9.51 billion yuan. 

Ne Zha 2 has taken movie viewers by storm since Spring Festival, leading the lucrative film period, Chen Jin, a data analyst at ticketing platform Beacon, told the Global Times on Thursday, adding that the film could gross as much as 9.5 billion yuan ($1.3 billion).