The phenomenal success of box office blockbuster "Ne Zha 2" is not just a testament to the growing market for animated films in China but also marks a significant leap in the country's animation industry backed by supercomputing power.
The number of special effect shots in "Ne Zha 2" has surpassed the total number of shots in its predecessor, helping make it the highest-grossing film of all time in China.
Behind the thrilling visual effects are the post-production services based on supercomputing power, which offers high-performance computing support for fields such as film rendering.
According to reports, "Ne Zha 2" contains nearly 2,000 special effect shots with over 10,000 special effect elements. A total of 138 domestic animation studios collaborated on its production, with animation teams striving for perfection and constantly pushing creative boundaries to deliver top-tier visual quality.
Beyond detailed character animations and breathtaking large-scale shots, the film's stunning visual effects are powered by advanced supercomputing technology.
"The production of 'Ne Zha 2' took five years and rendering alone took nearly three years at our facility. At its peak, we deployed 1,000 high-performance GPUs dedicated to processing the film, with engineers on standby around the clock," said Peng Benqian, director of the General Department of Gui'an New District Science and Technology Innovation Industry Development Co., Ltd., Guizhou Province.
Experts highlight that "Ne Zha 2"'s success not only showcases the sophistication of China's animation industry in the workflows of technology, creativity, and production, but also demonstrates the country's ability to independently complete the full production cycle of large-scale 3D animated films.
"Ne Zha 2" has become the first Chinese film to surpass 10 billion yuan (about 1.37 billion U.S. dollars) in total global earnings, including presales, crossing the benchmark on Thursday, according to data from the ticketing platform Maoyan.
The sequel continues the story of the iconic character Ne Zha, a rebellious boy-god from Chinese mythology. Set after the events of the first film, it follows Ne Zha and Ao Bing as their souls are saved but their physical forms face dissolution. With the help of the immortal Taiyi Zhenren (True Man of the Grand Unity), who uses the Seven-Colored Lotus to reconstruct their bodies, the two heroes must face numerous challenges.
The film's exploration of universal themes, such as defiance in the face of power, the struggle against fate, and embracing self-confidence, has struck a chord with the viewers.
Supercomputing power fuels visual brilliance for "Ne Zha 2"
