(officially titled Ne Zha 2: Mo Tong Nao Hai or The Devil Boy Churns the Sea ) is the highest-grossing animated film in global box office history , shattering industry records with an unprecedented worldwide gross of over $2.26 billion following its release on January 29, 2025. Directed by the visionary filmmaker Jiaozi and produced on an $80 million budget, this spectacular sequel to the 2019 blockbuster Ne Zha: Birth of the Demon Boy outpaced massive Hollywood franchises. It became the first non-English language film to lead the annual global box office and secured its spot as the fifth-highest-grossing movie of all time . 🎬 Production and Release Overview Film Details Director & Writer Jiaozi (Yu Yang) Source Material Investiture of the Gods (16th-century novel) Production Budget US$80 million (Approx. ¥600 million) Global Box Office US$2.267 billion Run Time 144 minutes (2 hours, 24 minutes) Global Rank #5 Highest-Grossing Film of All Time Major Distributors China Film Group, CMC Pictures, A24 (US Dub)
The film stands as the first non-English, non-Hollywood animated production to breach the $2 billion milestone, even surpassing massive Western theatrical giants like The Lion King (2019) in total ticket sales. A Global Phenomenon: The Box Office Records Film Nezha 2