"Ne Zha 2" makes history as first non-Hollywood film to surpass 2 billion USD

BEIJING, March 3 (Xinhua) -- Chinese animated blockbuster "Ne Zha 2" has become the first non-Hollywood film to exceed 2 billion U.S. dollars in global earnings, including presales, according to data from ticketing platform Maoyan.

The milestone, reached as of Monday afternoon, comes just 33 days after its release on Jan. 29 during the Chinese New Year and 13 days after it surpassed Disney's 2024 film "Inside Out 2" to become the highest-grossing animated movie of all time worldwide.

This achievement adds to the film's growing list of records, including being the first to gross 1 billion U.S. dollars in a single market and the first non-Hollywood title to enter the billion-dollar club.

Directed by Yang Yu, known as Jiaozi, the sequel to the 2019 animated hit "Ne Zha" -- which grossed 5 billion yuan and topped the Chinese box office that year -- now ranks seventh on the all-time global box office charts, just behind Marvel's 2018 film "Avengers: Infinity War."  ■