‘Ne Zha 2,' explained: How it became the biggest animated film ever and is recruiting Oscar talent for the U.S. release

Yahoo

2 days ago

At 2025's halfway point, A Minecraft Movie, Lilo & Stitch, and Sinners are the year's three biggest box-office success stories — on U.S. screens anyway. Internationally, though, those chicken jockeys, aliens, and vampires have been left in the dust by a rambunctious sprite named Ne Zha, the star of a Chinese-language animated sequel that's been a headlining attraction at multiplexes around the world for six months and counting.
Since opening in China in January, Ne Zha 2 has broken the $2 billion barrier at the global box office, joining such rarefied company as James Cameron's Avatar movies and the one-two punch of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. While the bulk of those grosses have come from its native land — where it has earned an estimated $1.8 billion and counting — the movie has traveled to other markets, including a limited U.S. run in February that brought in an additional $20 million per the box office tracking site The Numbers.
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That domestic number is about to get a boost courtesy of A24, which just announced an English-language version featuring Best Actress winner Michelle Yeoh among the vocal cast. Here's what you need to know about Ne Zha 2 ahead of its wide stateside release on Aug. 22.
Deeply rooted in Chinese mythology, the Ne Zha movies follow the exploits of the titular child warrior, based on a Shang Dynasty-era legend. The original 2019 film recounted Ne Zha's origin story — a demon spirit who is reincarnated as a flesh-and-blood youth seeks to defy a fatal curse and fights an array of gods and monsters as part of that quest. That story ended with both Ne Zha and his friend and fellow spirit Ao Bing both returning to the spirit realm.
As Ne Zha 2 begins, Ne Zha is gifted with a new human body, but Ao Bing's return is more... complicated. While figuring out a way to bring him back for good, Ne Zha invites his friend to share his physical form as they work together to triumph in a series of tasks created by their duplicitous antagonist, Wuliang. As an additional handicap, Ne Zha has to mask his own demon identity during this fresh round of tussles with others of his kind.
After a series of trials and tribulations, Ao Bing and Ne Zha are separate entities once more and a mid-credits scenes teases their next adventure — a rematch with Wuliang.
So far, Yeoh is the only announced member of the vocal cast that A24 is assembling for its dubbed release. The Malaysian actress — who made history as the first Asian women to win the Best Actress Oscar for her star turn in 2022's Everything Everywhere All at Once — has recently lent her voice to such animated productions as The Tiger's Apprentice, Minions: The Rise of Gru and Paws of Fury.
"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," Yeoh remarked in a statement. "Sharing this with audiences in English is such a joy, and I can't wait for everyone to experience the wonder, heart, spectacular artistry, and magic of this film on the big screen."
A24 is certainly treating Ne Zha 2 as a major contender, awarding it premium theatrical treatment across North America, including IMAX, 3D and large format screens. The Academy's enhanced roster of international members are likely to respond to the movie's outsized success with global audiences as well.
And then there's the fact that the current crops of American-made animated features have been on the weaker side commercially. So far, the year's highest-grossing animated U.S. title at the domestic box office is Dog Man, trailed by Pixar's Elio — which so far hasn't seen an Elemental-style comeback. Upcoming feature-length cartoons include Smurfs, The Bad Guys 2 and a new SpongeBob Squarepants movie, none of which are likely to reach the billion-dollar mark, let alone $2 billion.
The only serious challenger to Ne Zha 2's dominance will likely be another sequel — Disney's Zootopia 2, which is set for a Thanksgiving bow. The 2016 original banked over $1 billion worldwide and anticipation for the follow-up is swelling to Moana 2 levels. If Zootopia 2 exceeds its creative and commercial expectations, Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde may just outfox Ne Zha and Ao Bing with voters.
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