By ArtiZen Editor
After hitting a $10 Billion ticket sales record in China’s domestic market, ‘Ne Zha 2’ also named ‘The Demon Boy Havoc in the Sea’ has debuted in North American markets across 48 states and 770 cinemas in America, as well as 10 provinces in Canada since Friday, Feb. 14th, 2025.
Based on a 16th-century Chinese fantasy novel ‘Investiture of the Gods’, Ne Zha 2 is a sequel to Ne Zha ‘The Demon Boy Was Born’ which was released in 2019, with a story arc featuring parental love, friendship, defiance spirit against the corrupted social structure and status quo. Its multi-elements cultural aspects extend appeals to diverse layers of audiences including kids, adults, anime, and video game lovers in Asia, Oceania countries, and North America.
Since released in China during Lunar New Year festival on Jan 29th, this movie has raked in over $16 billion in ticket sales so far and has broken multiple box-office records. It’s now the second highest-grossing animated film of all time worldwide, following Inside Out 2.
Ne Zha is a household name seen commonly in Chinese folklore and mythology. He is a deity endowed by the gods of Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism and serves as a key fighting vanguard for the heavenly palace/celestial administration. His image is a teenager standing on two fire-wheeling rings, wearing a red sash and holding a spear in hand, he could change from a human body to a three-headed, six-arms physique, his job duty is to guard the Heaven Palace and defeat monsters.
In Ne Zha 2, the kid Ne Zha and his soulmate friend Ao Bing, a son of the Dragon King, will restore their body shapes in lotus with the help of Taiyi Deity, who is a prestigious god in the heaven and also the master Shifu for Ne Zha. To protect Ne Zha’s hometown city before it is slashed and burned by the demon army, Ne Zha has to survive three crucible trials set by the Heaven Palace Gods and demonstrate his capability before he can officially join the deity team. Ao Bing’s father Dragon King mistakenly thought his son was dead in the hands of Ne Zha’s parents and almost launched the war against Ne Zha’s family, nevertheless, the ending story saw Ne Zha, Ao Bing, and both their families unite to fight against the deepfake, hideous, hypocritical deity boss ‘The Unlimited‘ Prime God and changed their destiny.
The animated movie is now available in theaters now, for those who have never gripped any knowledge about Chinese mythology, this is a chance to get your foot in the door. What’s more, it’s a comedy with some scenes used as a satire metaphor of the American White House and Pentagon, you may or may not find it, but laughter can be guaranteed as a critical part of the experience.
