STORY: Chinese blockbuster "Ne Zha 2" brings boons beyond theaters
SHOOTING TIME: Recent footage
DATELINE: Feb. 17, 2025
LENGTH: 0:02:46
LOCATION: Beijing
CATEGORY: ENTERTAINMENT

SHOTLIST:
1. various of "Ne Zha 2"
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): WARREN, Moviegoer in Sydney
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): KAI JOHNSON, Moviegoer in Los Angeles
4. various of "Ne Zha 2"
5. SOUNDBITE 3 (Chinese): GE YI, Co-animation director of "Ne Zha 2"
6. various of "Ne Zha 2"

STORYLINE:

Animated blockbuster "Ne Zha 2" is already, as of February 13, the first film to gross one billion U.S. dollars in a single market. It's also the first non-Hollywood title to join the exclusive billion-dollar club.

"Ne Zha 2" is poised to make waves across the globe, acting as a cultural bridge that offers international audiences a glimpse into China's rich mythology and traditions.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): WARREN, Moviegoer in Sydney
"I thought it was amazing. The quality of the animation was just top-notch. I love the story and the vibe of the entire film. And it was just amazing."
   
SOUNDBITE 2 (English): KAI JOHNSON, Moviegoer in Los Angeles
"I think it's a great animation film. I honestly love animation, so this was a really big thing I love to watch. So I think it's really fun and exciting."

Beyond its cinematic success, the film's ripple effects on tourism, retail, and capital markets provide a glimpse into China's evolving economic dynamism.
   
According to data provided by the film's creative team, "Ne Zha 2" featured nearly 2,000 visual effect shots, an impossible scale for a single studio to handle.
   
This task was achieved through a production network comprising 138 companies.

SOUNDBITE 3 (Chinese): GE YI, Co-animation director of "Ne Zha 2"
"We drew inspiration from actors' performances and styles in classic Chinese films, TV shows, and operas. To make sure the sea of clouds in the film could convey the charm that is often shown in traditional Chinese paintings, we referred a lot to Chinese landscape paintings and their color palette to fine-tune our colors."

Enlight Media, the film's major producer, experienced a 264 percent stock surge within just eight trading days of release.
  
Now, cities tied to Ne Zha's legend are racing to transform cinematic buzz into economic gain.
   
Tourism platform Tongcheng reported a fivefold spike in searches for "Ne Zha-themed trips."

Ne Zha merchandise, from toys to limited-edition figurines, is flying off shelves.
   
Hunan Sunny&Sandy Toys Manufacturer Co., Ltd., holds the exclusive license for 3D plastic candy toys based on "Ne Zha 2." The company has seen cumulative online and offline sales for Ne Zha figurines top 200 million yuan since Jan. 31.

Currently, with nearly 60 production lines operating simultaneously, the firm's monthly production capacity for Ne Zha-themed products has reached 6 to 8 million units.
  
Box office trackers Beacon and Maoyan projected that domestic revenue from the film will reach a total of between 15 and 16 billion yuan.
   
Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Beijing.
(XHTV)