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June Xia

There’s a new king atop China’s 2D animated box office, and it’s Nobody.
Shanghai Animation Film Studio’s movie has overtaken Makoto Shinkai’s Suzume as the highest-grossing 2D animated film in Chinese box office history while becoming a dark horse in the nation’s summer movie season.
With its success, Nobody has dethroned the dominance of Japanese animated films in China.
Before Nobody’s debut on August 2, the all-time top three such movies at the Chinese box office were Suzume, having generated 807 million yuan (US$112.2 million), followed by The Boy and the Heron’s 791 million yuan, and Your Name’s 713 million yuan – all produced in Japan.


Based on the 2023 online animated series Chinese Bizarreries, Nobody had earned just over 1 billion yuan as of Monday. It continues a unique animation style pioneered by the Chinese studio, incorporating extensive elements of ink-wash painting to create a Chinese aesthetic.
The film’s supervisor, Chen Liaoyu, said in July that Nobody features “ink entering the frame”, meaning the use of ink to construct the shots rather than using shots to depict ink, as reported by the Shanghai Observer newspaper.
“For example, the two tusks of the little pig demon retain the hand-drawn arc lines, and these details are the most challenging aspects,” Chen was quoted as saying.
The film is similar to the 3D animated blockbuster Ne Zha 2 in terms of plot, focusing on a theme of defying fate and triumphing through human will.
[C]onsecutive years of a sluggish film market have reduced the number of high-cost, high-quality productions
Cui Ting, film critic
Drawing from Journey to the West, a classic 16th-century novel, Nobody tells the story of four little monsters who impersonate the monk Tang Sanzang and his three disciples, embarking on a journey to obtain Buddhist scriptures.
Nobody received a score of 8.5 on Douban, China’s rating platform for artistic works. One comment on the platform, liked more than 5,000 times, said: “If I were still a child, perhaps I wouldn’t be crying my eyes out like I am now,” suggesting a resonance triggered by the protagonist’s struggles with the hardships and challenges of human life.
Xinhua reported on Monday that China’s total box office, including presales, from June to August had reached 10 billion yuan. The historical drama Dead to Rights, released on July 25, has grossed more than 2.5 billion yuan, topping the summer box office charts.
However, apart from Nobody’s stand-out performance, the broader summer movie market has been chasing some of the box office magic that Ne Zha 2 conjured during this year’s Spring Festival holiday.

Data from Maoyan Entertainment, China’s biggest movie ticketing app, showed that the summer box office was down by 17.85 per cent, year on year, as of Saturday.
Roughly 32.13 million screenings have taken place since June, marking a year-on-year decline of 16.17 per cent. The average ticket price this summer has been 37.39 yuan, compared with 40.9 yuan for last year’s summer season.
“Despite a massive consumer base, consecutive years of a sluggish film market have reduced the number of high-cost, high-quality productions,” Cui Ting, a film critic, wrote on WeChat Public Account in late July.
“As audience expectations for commercial films rise, the mismatch between supply and demand lowers the likelihood of breakout hits.”


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Based on an animated series, Shanghai Animation Film Studio’s newest movie has dethroned Japan’s most successful animated showings in China


Based on an animated series, Shanghai Animation Film Studio’s newest movie has dethroned Japan’s most successful animated showings in China.


Surprising many, Nobody becomes China’s top 2D animated film at the box office

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Based on an animated series, Shanghai Animation Film Studio’s newest movie has dethroned Japan’s most successful animated showings in China

Based on an animated series, Shanghai Animation Film Studio’s newest movie has dethroned Japan’s most successful animated showings in China