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Phoebe Zhang

Chinese companies and authorities have rallied behind domestic blockbuster Ne Zha 2, showing their support by booking entire cinemas and expressing pride in the home-grown animated feature.
The film hit a record high of 13.5 billion yuan (US$1.86 billion) in box office sales on Monday, almost a month after its debut, according to real-time film tracker Maoyan.
It now ranks eighth on the all-time global box office chart, surpassing the 2019 American musical drama The Lion King and closely trailing Avengers: Infinity War and Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Chinese companies began championing the film soon after its release on January 29.
On February 8, Wang Teng, general manager of marketing for Chinese cellphone brand Xiaomi, wrote on social media that he took his team to see the film.
“It is crazy! Not only Chinese manufacturing and Chinese technology – now Chinese culture will shine on the global stage as well,” he wrote.
Other Chinese companies have responded similarly to the hit movie. In mid-February, Weilong Food, a Shandong-based snack company, said on social media that it had halted its factory for a day and invited all employees to watch the film.
“We will help Ne Zha 2 rank first in the world,” the company said.
A company spokesman later told Red Star News that the move was not a publicity stunt, but stemmed from a sincere desire for the film to rank among the top box office hits globally.
He said the company spent more than 40,000 yuan on tickets for staff as well as for children from a local orphanage.
Chinese shampoo company Adolph and laundry detergent maker Power 28 have taken similar measures, according to media reports.
A spokesman for Power 28 said Chinese companies always rallied behind domestic films because they shared “similar experiences”.

Meanwhile, Chinese authorities have viewed the film as an opportunity to flaunt China’s soft power.
At a press conference on February 12, Zhu Fenglian, spokeswoman for Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said the film would be screened in Taiwan as soon as possible.
Zhu said that interest in the film among Taiwanese internet users and media figures reflected the “shared historical memories and deep emotional resonance” felt across the Taiwan Strait for Chinese culture.
State media outlets said the film was the story of the Chinese people and represented the country’s growing cultural strength and national power.
They have also promoted the film’s release overseas. A series of state media articles last week said the film had been a hit in North America, Fiji, Saudi Arabia, Australia and even at an event at the United Nations. One article said it had more showings than Captain America: Brave New World at a cinema in Sydney.
An article from People’s Daily called for China’s film industry to use this as an opportunity to foster talent and discover more traditional and modern themes to “gain a foothold in the global competition”.


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Chinese culture

China’s blockbuster hit Ne Zha 2 gets push from domestic businesses and Beijing

Audience members watch the 4D version of Ne Zha 2 in a cinema in Beijing’s Dongcheng district on February 17. Photo: Xinhua

Film-goers take a photo in front of a Ne Zha 2 poster in Suva, capital of Fiji, on Thursday. Photo: Xinhua

Ne Zha 2: ancient Chinese stories prove a winning formula for animated film success

Animated film Nezha 2 has broken records at Chinese cinemas over the Lunar New Year holiday, proving that stories based in ancient Chinese mythology are a winning formula. Photo: Xinhua

Experts have said that in China, animated films adapted from Chinese mythology will always prove popular as the younger generation embraces their past. Photo: Xinhua

What the success of Wukong, Ne Zha and DeepSeek holds for the future of China-US rivalry

Nezha 2 is predicted to break Chinese box office records. Photo: Reuters

China’s box office riding Lunar New Year wave to record Spring Festival holiday haul

A poster for Ne Zha 2 appears at a cinema in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, on Monday. Photo: Getty Images

News

China

Politics

Chinese companies rally behind film by booking entire cinemas while state media outlets herald box office success as a sign of soft power


Chinese companies rally behind film by booking entire cinemas while state media outlets herald box office success as a sign of soft power.
