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| Ne Zha 2 Joins Elite Club as Titanic Slips to Fifth Worldwide. (Credits: Sohu) |
Ne Zha 2 has edged past Titanic to claim a spot among the four highest-grossing films in global box office history, underlining just how far Chinese animation has pushed into blockbuster territory.
According to the latest figures from Box Office Mojo as of 8 April, Ne Zha 2 has reached a worldwide total of $2.2674 billion, narrowly surpassing Titanic’s long-standing $2.2648 billion haul.
It is not a dramatic overtake, more of a quiet nudge, but enough to rewrite the rankings and place the film firmly in fourth place worldwide.
The numbers did not jump overnight by accident. A combination of updated international earnings, including newly logged receipts from markets such as Malaysia, alongside currency shifts, gave the film a late boost.
Add to that its staggered releases across parts of Asia, including Japan and South Korea, and the final tally crept upwards just enough to tip it over the edge.
Released in mainland China on 29 January 2025, Ne Zha 2 had already been behaving less like a sequel and more like a full-scale phenomenon.
Its domestic run alone brought in 15.445 billion yuan, with over 324 million cinema admissions, numbers that would be considered excessive in most markets but routine for this particular juggernaut.
By the time it wrapped its theatrical run in June, it had broken over a hundred records and ticked off hundreds more so-called milestones, a statistic that feels almost satirical in its scale.
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| Ne Zha 2 Knocks Titanic Off Its Pedestal in Global Box Office Shake-Up. (Sohu) |
Internationally, the film’s rollout was handled by a coalition including Enlight Media, Coco Cartoon and A24, giving it a wider reach than many Chinese-language releases typically enjoy.
Screenings across more than 70 countries helped transform what might once have been a domestic success story into a genuinely global performer.
At the top of the all-time box office chart, the usual heavyweights still hold their ground. Avatar, Avengers: Endgame, and Avatar: The Way of Water remain comfortably ahead, operating in a financial league that seems increasingly detached from reality.
Yet Ne Zha 2’s arrival just beneath them signals a shift: audiences are no longer confined to Hollywood’s output when it comes to record-breaking hits.
The film itself leans heavily into mythological fantasy, following Ne Zha and Ao Bing after a catastrophic event leaves their physical forms in ruins.
With their souls preserved, the enigmatic Taiyi Zhen Ren attempts to rebuild them using a mystical seven-coloured lotus, a premise that blends folklore with spectacle in a way that clearly resonates far beyond its home market.
Fans have celebrated the milestone as a win for Chinese cinema’s global standing, with many calling it long overdue recognition.
Others have taken a more sceptical stance, pointing to exchange rate fluctuations and delayed box office reporting as factors behind the final ranking shift.
A few commentators, in typical internet fashion, have simply expressed disbelief that Titanic—a film that seemed permanently anchored in cinematic history—has been quietly overtaken by an animated feature.
So, is Ne Zha 2 a one-off anomaly or the start of a new box office order?