Chinese animated blockbuster "Ne Zha 2" wows Filipino moviegoers

The Chinese animated film "Ne Zha 2" premiered in the Philippines on Wednesday, impressing Filipino moviegoers with its breathtaking animation, spectacular action sequences, and rich mythological elements.

"Ne Zha 2" recently set a new record as the highest-grossing animated film of all time in China, and started screening in theaters across the Philippines.

To better promote the film and attract a wider audience, employees at a cinema in the Greater Manila Area styled their hair to resemble Ne Zha's iconic look and cosplayed as the remarkable character.

Jay Reyes, manager at SM Aura's cinema operations branch, praised the Chinese animated film for its high production quality.

"As of now, the 'Ne Zha 2' is doing great in terms of advance ticket selling. It's quite surprising that China can make this kind of animation. I can recommend this to all Filipinos to watch it because the film is really good," said Reyes.

Filipino audiences are captivated by the unique cinematic experience offered by this blockbuster from China.

"I like to watch a combination of all stuff like action drama, I mean a little bit of drama and some comedy," said Daniel Martin, a boy who had just watched the film.

"Since we actually watched the last scene, the 'Ne Zha 1', we're so excited to see the 'Ne Zha 2'. We're so excited to watch that. And we've been so grateful, and we've been so overwhelmed about the 'Ne Zha 2'. Actually, the animation improved a lot. The other one is good, but the 'Ne Zha 2' is much better than the animation from the last one," said Kim Kho, an audience.

The film, the sequel to 2019's "Ne Zha," was first released in China on Jan. 29. It continues the tale of the iconic boy god from Chinese mythology as Ne Zha and his ally Ao Bing struggle to rebuild their physical forms and secure their fate with the help of the immortal Taiyi Zhenren.

According to data from ticketing platform Maoyan, "Ne Zha 2" has become the first non-Hollywood film to exceed 2 billion U.S. dollars in global earnings, including presales.

Chinese animated blockbuster "Ne Zha 2" wows Filipino moviegoers

Chinese animated blockbuster "Ne Zha 2" wows Filipino moviegoers

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that Ukraine stands ready to agree to security guarantees based on NATO's Article 5 as part of a compromise in the peace process, according to media reports.

"From the very beginning, Ukraine's desire was to join NATO, these are real security guarantees. Some partners from the United States and Europe did not support this direction," the Ukrinform news agency quoted Zelensky.

Zelensky said Article 5-like guarantees from the United States and from European partners, as well as from other countries, "would provide an opportunity to prevent another arrival of Russian troops." He also called it "a compromise on our part."

Zelensky said he was not yet ready to disclose specific details of the proposed security guarantees, saying they would be known in a day or two.

Ukrainian president arrived in Berlin on Sunday afternoon for talks with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and other European leaders.

German newspaper Bild reported that Zelensky may also hold talks with representatives of U.S. President Donald Trump, but did not elaborate further.

According to Ukrinform, Zelensky said the same day that Ukraine must be prepared for any possible developments regarding elections.

"I asked our partners to assist with the security situation if elections are held, and I said that lawmakers should prepare options for how this could be implemented if the situation develops in that direction. They should work out, in the near future, options for holding elections," he said in a statement in response to journalists' questions.

He said he had received "signals" from the United States and President Trump regarding Ukraine's presidential election.

Ukraine says ready to accept NATO-style security guarantees