# Ne Zha 2

Ne Zha 2 (simplified Chinese: 哪吒之魔童闹海; traditional Chinese: 哪吒之魔童鬧海; pinyin: Nézhā zhī Mótóng nào hǎi; lit. 'Nezha: The Demon Child Churns the Sea'; also known as 哪吒2; Nézhā èr) is a 2025 Chinese animated fantasy adventure film written and directed by Jiaozi. It is adapted from Chinese mythology stories and the 16th-century Chinese novel Investiture of the Gods (Fengshen Yanyi). The film serves as the direct sequel to 2019's Ne Zha and the third film in Enlight Pictures' Fengshen Universe, after 2020's Jiang Ziya.
The film was released in theaters across China on 29 January 2025, coinciding with the first day of Chinese New Year. As with its predecessor, the film received highly positive reviews from critics. Having grossed more than US$2 billion against a production budget of US$80 million, the film broke multiple box-office records inside and outside of China. The film became the highest-grossing film in a single box office territory in its domestic market, China, and globally became the highest-grossing animated film and the highest-grossing non-English language film, being the first non-English language film to gross over $1 billion and $2 billion, and the first animated film in history to hit the $2 billion mark. It also ranks as the highest-grossing film of 2025 and the fifth-highest-grossing film of all time, as well as the animated film that had the most tickets sold.

## Plot

After Ne Zha and Ao Bing are struck by heavenly lightning together, their physical bodies are destroyed. To prevent their souls from dissipating, Master Taiyi Zhenren exhausts his Seven-Colored Sacred Lotus to regenerate their physical bodies, though they are still fragile. Ao Bing's father, Ao Guang, the Dragon King of the East Sea, believing his son is dead, attacks the town, releasing the monsters imprisoned under his palace, including the other three Dragon Kings of the Four Seas. Ao Bing defends Chentang Pass, but, due to the effort exerted, his new body disintegrates.
Ao Guang makes a ceasefire deal where Ao Bing and Ne Zha will share Ne Zha's body for seven days, complete Immortal Wuliang's three trials to ascend into xian and win a potion that will restore the Sacred Lotus and create a new body for Ao Bing; afterwards, Ao Guang's forces will retreat. In the trials, candidates complete missions supervised by and normally performed by the heavenly Taoist sect's demon hunters. Ne Zha takes a sleeping pill to hide his demonic nature, allowing Ao Bing to fully control his body temporarily. They beat the first two trials against a clan of marmots and a master who trains demons to prepare for the xian trials, respectively.
In the meantime, Ao Guang tasks Master Shen Gongbao, a Leopard demon who has ascended to the sect's court, to supervise Chentang Pass and the other three Dragon Kings. Gongbao is unexpectedly reunited with his younger brother, Shen Xiaobao, who tells him of the sect's siege and plunder of the Shen family's village—including Ne Zha's battle against the master, who is their father. Xiaobao dies in Gongbao's arms, having been mortally wounded in his attempt to protect his father during Ne Zha's second trial. While the sect prepares for the next trial, Chentang Pass is annihilated by the dragons. Enraged, Ne Zha completes the third trial without Ao Bing's help-defeating a female stone monster on skull mountain-and becamexian and winning the potion. As Taiyi regenerates Ao Bing's body, Ne Zha abandons them to join Wuliang's forces in trapping the dragons in the sect's cauldron, where the dragons will be forged into elixirs as vengeance for Chentang Pass' destruction.
Ne Zha's parents arrive at the cauldron unharmed with Ao Bing and Master Taiyi to explain the truth, revealing that Wuliang ordered the attack on Chentang Pass. Gongbao deduces Wuliang's role in besieging the Shen family, only for the three Dragon Kings to betray their kind and join Wuliang. They massacre the townspeople and frame Ao Guang as a casus belli to destroy the dragons and ensure the heavenly sect's domination. Gongbao takes a last stand to defend the city, buying enough time to arrange for Ne Zha's parents' survival.
The two parties battle until Wuliang manages to cast Ne Zha's group into the cauldron. Ne Zha's mother reverts into elixir in her son's arms. Enraged, Ne Zha absorbs the cauldron's samadhi fire, solidifying his new body. With the help of the dragons and prisoners, Ne Zha and Ao Bing break the cauldron and force the heavenly forces to retreat. In the aftermath, Ao Guang leads the remaining dragons into hiding in the sea, with the exception of Ao Bing, who stays behind to help expose Wuliang's nature.
In a post-credits scene, Wuliang heads to a secret prison to negotiate with the captive Shen Gongbao and Shen's father Zhengdao, hoping to recruit them. However, they end up stuck in the prison for 10 years after Wuliang curses the warden to sleep for mocking his injuries. Ne Zha's older xian brothers are also summoned to meet with Wuliang, but they apparently end up waiting ten years.

## Voice cast
### Mandarin

* Lü Yanting as the child Nezha, reincarnation of the Demon Orb, son of Li Jing and Lady Yin
** Joseph Cao (囧森瑟夫) as the adolescent Nezha
* Han Mo as Ao Bing, reincarnation of the Spirit Pearl and the third son of Ao Guang, Dragon King of the East Sea
* Lü Qi as Lady Yin, Nezha's mother and the chieftess who governs Chentang Pass with her husband
* Zhang Jiaming as Taiyi Zhenren, Nezha's master, a Taoist xian who lives on the Kunlun
* Wang Deshun as Master xian Wuliang
* Li Nan as Ao Guang, the Dragon King of the East Sea
** Yu Chen as Ao Guang in human form
* Zhou Yongxi as Ao Run, the Dragon Queen of the West Sea
* Yang Wei as Shen Gongbao, Taiyi's martial brother and Ao Bing's master

## Production

Before the release of Ne Zha (2019), director Jiaozi said that the production team intended to develop a sequel if the film performed well at the box office. Ne Zha was commercially successful, so, five days after it was released, the production team stated that a sequel was being planned. The sequel was named "Nezha: The demon child churns the sea", or Ne Zha 2 in English. For this movie, the total cost for production reached 600 million yuan, breaking the 200 million yuan record of Deep Sea (2023) to become China's most expensive animated film. The film was also supported by Sichuan Province's funds for major cultural projects, which have an annual budget of 300 million yuan.
Ne Zha and Ne Zha 2 each took five years to produce. More than 4,000 people across 138 animation companies participated in the creation of the film, more than double the 1,600 people in the first film. Producer Liu Wenzhang said that the number of characters in this film is three times that of the previous film. The previous film had more than 1,800 shots, while this film has more than 2,400 shots, including more than 1,900 special effects shots.
A documentary, Bùpò-bùlì (不破不立; 'No innovation without destruction') was released online on 10 February 2025, which describes the process of making Ne Zha 2.

## Music

The film's music combines orchestra-style scoring recorded at the Vienna Synchron Stage in Vienna with traditional folk music from the various regions in China. The cue for the Tianyuan Ding slowly sinking is Mongol Tuvan throat singing; the final battle combines suona and orchestra instruments. In addition, in order to express different scenes and characters, the film also uses pipa. The opening passage adopts the Grand song of the Dong ethnic group, which was inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List since 2009. It is performed by ensemble Wuyue Chan'ge, which consists of ten Dong women from Qiandongnan, Guizhou.

## Marketing

On 7 January 2025, the film's first trailer was released. A second trailer was released on 26 January 2025.

## Release

On 10 December 2024 the film was officially announced. It was released in mainland China on 29 January 2025 (the first day of the Chinese New Year) in 2D, 3D, IMAX, CINITY, CGS, Dolby Cinema, and other formats. The film was released in Australia, New Zealand, and other countries on 13 February 2025; in the United States (on limited release) and Canada on 14 February; and in Hong Kong and Macau on 22 February. In Southeast Asia, the film releases on dates ranging from 6 March (in Singapore) to 21 March (in Indonesia). A release in the United Kingdom and Ireland is set for 21 March, after previews from 14 March, by Trinity CineAsia.
The film was delayed to release in Taiwanese cinemas due to Taiwan's special policy towards mainland Chinese films, thus hindering the film's release.

## Reception
### Box office

In three days after its release in China, the film's box office reached 1.1 billion yuan, which became the first movie to reach 1 billion yuan (US$137 million) in box office during the Chinese New Year in 2025. On the fourth day of release, the box office exceeded 2 billion yuan. On the fifth day of release, it exceeded 3 billion yuan. It exceeded 4 billion yuan on only the sixth day of release, breaking the record for the fastest to reach 4 billion yuan set by Detective Chinatown 3 in 2021 (it took nine days and nine hours). The box office exceeded 5 billion (US$684 million) on the eighth day of release, breaking the record of 5 billion set by The Battle at Lake Changjin, the box office champion in mainland China in 2021 (it took 19 days and 9 hours), and surpassed the total box office of the first Ne Zha film, becoming the highest grossing animated film in mainland China. The Ne Zha film series also became the second film series to exceed 10 billion yuan (US$1.37 billion) with just two movies, and the box office exceeded 6 billion on the ninth day of release.
As of 8 February 2025, the box office has exceeded 7.2 billion yuan, ranking first in the Chinese New Year period, surpassing Wolf Warrior 2 (2017) and The Battle at Lake Changjin (2021) to become the highest-grossing Chinese film of all time. On 8 February, the box office exceeded 7 billion yuan (US$958 million), becoming the 63rd film to cross the 7 billion yuan mark worldwide, and the first non-Hollywood film to do so. It also surpassed the single territory box office record of US$936.7 million set by Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), 11 days into its release. It became the highest-grossing animated film, surpassing the lifetime total of Inside Out 2 (2024) in less than three weeks of release. It marks the first time a non-American, non-English-language animated film achieved this milestone, as well as the second non-Disney animated film to be labeled as such after Shrek 2 (2004), which also was the highest-grossing film of its respective year. Ne Zha 2 passed the $2 billion mark on 9 March 2025, becoming the first animated and non-American film to have done so, and becoming the seventh film to pass this milestone.
At its premiere in Los Angeles on 12 February, Grauman's Chinese Theatre sold out of tickets immediately upon release. The film grossed $7.2 million in its opening weekend in the United States, compared with its predecessor's $1.2 million opening weekend there.

### Critical response

Ne Zha 2 has received highly positive reviews from critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 92% of 12 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.0/10. Douban Movies scored the film 8.5/10, and the film also had an average rating of 9.7 out of 10 on Maoyan and 9.8 out of 10 on Taopiaopiao. Red Star News praised its special effects, script, and concept, and said that the film "uses a solid script and accurate expression of values, proving that 'respect for the audience' is the real box office password." Shangguan News praised the film for continuing the style and rhythm of the previous film, and the further improvement of the battle and special effects scenes, but criticized the lack of suspense in the plot.

## Impact

The film's overwhelming success was widely noted by a variety of media outlets as unprecedented for Chinese and non-Hollywood cinema, several noting its implications for the movie industry as a whole. According to Taopiaopiao, Ne Zha 2 has attracted a large number of audiences who have never visited a cinema before. Many noted the success for the film was due to a variety of factors, such as fanfare and anticipation from fans due to the first film, its release timing around the holiday, word of mouth from the general public, and pride over the development and subsequent successes of Chinese animated blockbusters over the years, as exemplified by recent films such as White Snake (2019), Ne Zha, Jiang Ziya, Deep Sea and Chang'an (both 2023). After the film was released, its box office continued to rise due to excellent word of mouth. Many took to social media to voice that it was difficult to get tickets to the film. Netizens took to the producers' social media to call for more showings to be scheduled to meet the audience's viewing needs. In some areas, midnight showings were completely full, which was noted as a rare phenomenon.
The success of Ne Zha 2 led several commentators calling it a milestone for international cinema. Many netizens took to social media to voice pride for the film's success. Simultaneously, the film inspired direct comparisons between it and Captain America: Brave New World (2025), which was released in China around the same time. The latter's negative word-of-mouth from ticket buyers on ticketing websites caused it to massively decline in box office performance in the country. According to the dissident website China Digital Times, negative articles and reporting toward the film have been heavily censored in mainland China.
As of 6 March 2025, less than two percent of ticket sales have come outside mainland China. Ne Zha 2 has seen particular popularity among the Chinese diaspora in various countries such as Australia, New Zealand, and Northern America. It was reported the film inspired New Zealand viewers to visit China, with many lauding the film's presentation and depictions of Chinese culture.
Due to the film's box office performance, the film's producer and distributor, Enlight Media, saw its shares rise by the daily limit after the Chinese New Year.

### Merchandise

Official merchandise and toys associated with the film became best-selling across stores in China; many stores reported that Ne Zha 2 products completely sold out. After the film's release, sales of Ne Zha merchandises exceeded 50 million yuan online on e-commerce platform Taobao. Within two weeks of the film's release, over 400 million yuan in sales were generated from branded merchandise.