Continuing its wild run, Chinese blockbuster Ne Zha 2 has become the highest-grossing animated film of all time worldwide, surpassing previous record holder Inside Out 2. It also now sits as the No. 8 movie overall on the global chart.
Ne Zha 2 topped Inside Out 2‘s $1.699B global on Wednesday with $1.7B from just the home market (factoring in the markets that released last weekend, that rises to about $1.71B). Through the close of Thursday’s business, NZ2 is at RMB 12.47B ($1.72B) in China, per Maoyan.
Note that while Chinese ticketing platforms have been including the next day’s presales to calculate NZ2 milestones on a rolling basis, Deadline is not including presales and are using full-day reported estimates as of the end of each business day.
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The projected final in China has been adjusted slightly downward, to RMB 15.1B ($2.08B), which would see Ne Zha 2 edge Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ global tally to land it at No. 5 on the all-time chart.
RELATED: ‘Ne Zha 2’ Review: Chinese Blockbuster Is Visually Engaging, But Its Elaborate Plot Is A Challenge
In the meantime, the next film currently above Ne Zha 2 in the worldwide rankings is Spider-Man: No Way Home with $1.95B at No. 7 (anecdotally, that movie never released in China). And above that is Avengers: Infinity War at No. 6 with $2.05B.
Should NZ2 get to $2B in China, it would be the first time a film reaches the benchmark in a single market. The movie has been given an extended run in China and will stay in cinemas until March 30. It is releasing in Hong Kong this week.
Earlier records set by the film from director Jiaozi include becoming the highest-grossing movie ever in a single market worldwide, the first movie ever to cross $1B in a single market and the first non-Hollywood movie to join the billion-dollar club.