Virtually unknown in the west, Ne Zha 2 is the world’s highest-grossing animation at £1.6bn – outdoing Inside Out 2 – just weeks after its release

Just a few years ago, the biggest star of the Chinese box office was a brave army commander. Last year it was a woman who rediscovers herself through boxing. But in 2025 the hero that has caught everyone’s attention – and broken international box office records – is an animated demon child.

Ne Zha 2, a Chinese animation written and directed by Yang Yu, is a whirlwind of a film. The plot, inspired by Chinese mythology, follows the story of Ne Zha, a demon child raised by humans. He is on a quest to obtain a precious elixir to restore the physical state of his friend, the dragon prince Ao Bing, whose body has been destroyed by a lightning strike.