“It Made How Much?”: The $2.2 Billion Animated Phenomenon You Never Heard About
Imagine waking up one day and realizing that the most successful animated movie ever—a film that made more money than The Lion King, Frozen, and Toy Story 4 combined—never played in your country. No billboards. No Happy Meal toys. No endless discourse on Twitter (sorry—X). Just $2.2 billion in ticket sales… quietly.
That's Ne Zha 2.
Now, thanks to a distribution deal between A24 and CMC, the Chinese mega-hit is finally getting its long-overdue Western release. It hits theaters across the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand on August 22, with an English dub led by Michelle Yeoh. Yes, that Michelle Yeoh—Oscar-winner, genre royalty, national treasure.
You can see it in IMAX. In 3D. In every premium format your eyeballs can tolerate.
And honestly? You probably should.
A Movie That Shattered Records—Without a Whisper
Directed by Yang Yu, Ne Zha 2 is the sequel to 2019's Ne Zha, a breakout success in China that barely made a ripple overseas. The sequel did what sequels rarely do: it doubled down, blew past every animated record, and became the highest-grossing movie of 2025—period.
To put this in perspective: Disney's Lilo & Stitch reboot (the second-place earner this year) is sitting at $974 million. Respectable. Admirable. Still less than half of Ne Zha 2's box office take. The film is currently #5 on the all-time worldwide list, just behind the juggernauts: Avatar, Endgame, The Way of Water, and Titanic.
So how the hell did this happen?
Part of the answer lies in China's booming domestic film market—which, when fully mobilized, doesn't need Hollywood to make billion-dollar hits anymore. But it's not just raw numbers. Ne Zha 2 earned a staggering 96% score on Rotten Tomatoes, with early festival buzz hailing it as a “visual marvel” and a “new milestone in global animation.”
And now that it's heading west, it's not just bringing spectacle—it's bringing questions.
Myth, Mayhem, and a Middle Finger to Fate
Here's the pitch: a rebellious boy born to mortal parents is cursed with uncontrollable powers, feared by gods, and expected to save the planet from an ancient, apocalyptic force. He's hot-headed, impulsive, and kind of a jerk—but the kind you root for anyway.
Ne Zha isn't your typical animated hero. He's less Simba, more Deadpool-by-way-of-Daoism. And that's kind of the point.
Rooted in Chinese mythology but unmistakably modern, Ne Zha 2 blends cosmic stakes with grounded emotion. There's action—yes. There's stunning animation—absolutely. But there's also a cultural pulse here that feels different from anything Pixar or DreamWorks would dare attempt. It's messy. It's brash. It doesn't beg for approval. And it works.
Michelle Yeoh put it best:
“I'm honored to be part of Ne Zha 2, a landmark in Chinese animation and a powerful reminder of how universal our stories can be… I can't wait for everyone to experience the wonder, heart, spectacular artistry, and magic of this film on the big screen.”
Let's just say Yeoh doesn't co-sign every animated project that crosses her desk.
A24 + Animation = Something's Changing
Let's talk strategy.
This isn't Disney. This isn't Universal. This is A24, the indie darling known for Everything Everywhere All At Once, Hereditary, and Moonlight. They're not animation-first. But maybe that's the point.
By teaming with China's CMC and choosing this film—one that's already a proven monster in a foreign market—A24 is signaling a shift. Not toward more family fare (this ain't Minions), but toward something stranger, riskier, and more global.
You feel it, right? The walls around “Western animation” are crumbling. Japan already did it (Spirited Away, Your Name, Suzume). Now it's China's turn.
And Ne Zha 2? It's the battering ram.
The Real Test Begins August 22
So what happens next?
Will American audiences embrace a culturally specific, wildly irreverent Chinese myth with a sarcastic teen god at its center? Or will Ne Zha 2 remain an international legend that U.S. audiences are “too late” to catch up with?
No idea. But if it connects—if the spark translates—the global animation hierarchy could shift. Permanently.
Either way, when August 22 hits, you'll want to be in that theater. Not just because of the hype. Not just because of the box office math.
But because Ne Zha 2 is the kind of movie that makes you ask, “Why haven't we seen more of this before?”
And the answer might say more about us than about the film.
