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When several high-profile Hollywood sequels hit theatres this year, it was widely assumed that at least one of these tentpole releases would dominate the global box office by the end of 2025. However, the year delivered a stunning surprise.

The highest-grossing film of 2025 is neither Avatar 3 nor Jurassic World: Rebirth, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, or any other Hollywood juggernaut. Instead, the crown belongs to Ne Zha 2, a sequel to a Chinese animated blockbuster.

Made on a production budget of approximately ₹700 crore, Ne Zha 2 shattered expectations by grossing an astonishing $2.2 billion (around ₹18,000 crore) worldwide, finishing far ahead of every other film released this year. With this phenomenal performance, it comfortably tops the global box office charts for 2025.

Interestingly, animation dominated the top tier this year. Disney’s Zootopia 2 emerged as the second-highest grosser with close to $1.5 billion, followed by Lilo & Stitch in third place and Warner Bros.’ A Minecraft Movie securing the fourth spot.

Directed and written by Jiaozi (Yu Yang), Ne Zha 2 is inspired by the legendary Chinese mythological character Ne Zha, a demon child. The character is voiced by Lü Yanting and Joseph Cao in Mandarin, and Crystal Lee and Griffin Puatu in English. The film was produced by Chengdu Coco Cartoon in association with Beijing Enlight Media.

Released in January, Ne Zha 2 stormed past the $2 billion mark within just two months, making history as only the seventh film of all time to achieve this rare milestone. The film stands as a testament to China’s rapidly advancing animation technology and highlights the vast, still largely untapped potential of the global animation market.

Notably, Ne Zha 2 is the first non-English animated film ever to cross $2 billion and only the second non-Disney film—after Shrek 2 (2004)—to reach this extraordinary benchmark.

Given current trends, it appears highly unlikely that Hollywood’s much-hyped year-end release, Avatar: Fire and Ash, will be able to replicate or surpass the unprecedented success achieved by Ne Zha 2 in the coming months.