It is not only economic issue, but of Chinese national pride

The trajectory of ‘NE ZHA 2’ It is absolutely incredible. That it works in this way, like a real hurricane, a Chinese animation film, developed outside Hollywood and that has barely seen himself outside his country, leaves a good record of how weak the world box office is in front of the robust figures That China exhibits. This epic of mythological dyes is already The fifth highest grossing film in historyleaving behind the most successful ‘Star Wars’ movie of all time, ‘The Force Awakens’.

Dizzy figures. Outside China, ‘Ne Zha 2’ has only raised about 31 million dollars, but within its country, it already has more than 2,054 million dollars. With bothAvatar‘ and ‘Titanic‘) And the historical’Endey me‘Marvel. The forecasts of the film producer, Maoyan, is to reach about 2.1 billion dollars after the premiere in Japan, Indonesia and most of Europe. It would be in that case still below ‘Titanic’ and its 2,257 million.

A favorable context. This bombing occurs at a time when the world box office is showing worrying symptoms of exhaustion. In the United States, the box office has added This weekend Some scarce 54.7 million dollars, certifying the worst of the year. The most watched film of the week, ‘Novocaine’, has barely pocketed 8.7 million. And it is not a Hollywood thing: according to Comscore, in Spain we have had The worst weekend of March since 2021despite how very well the new Ruiz Caldera, ‘Wolfgang’ has gone.

Even an enigma. The most amazing thing about this success, without a doubt, is that ‘Ne Zha 2’ is virtually unknown outside of China. Cinema fans and analysts attentive to the box office have heard of it, but it is very, far from the international fame of ‘Titanic’ or a movie of the Avengers. And yet, there is, rubbing with them. But it is that the Chinese population is sufficient to sustain a success as follows: in their country of origin, ‘Ne zha 2’ has sold more than 300 million tickets, a figure higher than the population of any country that is not India, the United States or China itself. It is 21% of the country’s population, a percentage already impressive.

The reasons for a success. There are reasons for this success in China, completely alien to the rest of the world: it is the sequel to a 2019 film (which was already there the highest grossing animated film in history) and premiered the most important weekend of the year, the New Year. Of course, the box office increase, quickly overcoming international successes such as’Upside down 2‘Inflamed the film’s career, which accelerated the rate of income. Numerous companies came to buy tickets for their employees and give them the day off to see the movie.

National pride. The film has become, for this reason, almost in a matter of patriotic responsibility: 138 Chinese animation studies collaborated in its creation, and in different media of international draft like ‘shine’ The film has been presented as a kind of culmination of the evolutionary tree of Chinese animated cinema. The expectation has made many spectators come to see it several times or are encouraged to repeat in IMAX format. The fact that this milestone serves to forget a Nefasta box office for China in 2024who lived a 25%drop, reinforces this feeling. Of course, the traditional Chinese legends that serve as the basis and the classic themes of the country’s family cinema have also helped that ‘NE ZHA 2’ reach the category of authentic milestone.

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