"Ne Zha 2" sets new high for overseas box office of Chinese films in 20 years

Chinese animated blockbuster "Ne Zha 2" is expected to surpass 100 million U.S. dollars in overseas box office, setting a new high for Chinese films going abroad in the past 20 years, chairman of its major producer Enlight Media said on Sunday during the ongoing 27th Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF).

"Ne Zha 2," released in January this year, has become a global success, captivating audiences worldwide with its unique take on Chinese mythology and visually stunning animation. It is a sequel to the 2019 animated hit "Ne Zha."

Wang Changtian, chairman of Beijing Enlight Media - also the film's major investor, said, "We now expect the final overseas box office to exceed 100 million U.S. dollars, making it the highest in the past 20 years. This means that after two decades, we have a new opportunity to re-enter the international market with purely domestic Chinese films."

Since its release on January 29, 2025, "Ne Zha 2" has grossed over 15.8 billion yuan (about 2.2 billion U.S. dollars).

The Chinese version with English subtitles has been distributed in regions such as Asia, North America, Europe, and Oceania. At the same time, the English dubbed version will also see a secondary overseas release.

In merchandise sales, the "Ne Zha" series has generated hundreds of billions of yuan so far, providing significant benefits across development, production, and sales.

Wang predicted that merchandise sales are highly likely to achieve over 100 billion yuan.

"Ne Zha 2" sets new high for overseas box office of Chinese films in 20 years

The death toll from a landfill collapse in the central Philippine city of Cebu has risen to eight by Monday morning as search and rescue operations continued for another 28 missing people.

The landfill collapse occurred on Thursday as dozens of sanitation workers were working at the site. The disaster has already caused injuries of 18 people.

Family members of the missing people said the rescue progress is slow, and the hope for the survival of their loved ones is fading.

"For me, maybe I’ve accepted the worst result already because the garbage is poisonous and yesterday, it was raining very hard the whole day. Maybe they’ve been poisoned. For us, alive or dead, I hope we can get their bodies out of the garbage rubble," said Maria Kareen Rubin, a family member of a victim.

Families have set up camps on high ground near the landfill, awaiting news of their relatives. Some people at the site said cries for help could still be heard hours after the landfill collapsed, but these voices gradually faded away.

Bienvenido Ranido, who lost his wife in the disaster, said he can't believe all that happened.

"After they gave my wife oxygen, my kids and I were expecting that she would be saved that night because she was still alive. But the night came and till the next morning, they didn't manage to save her," he said.

Death toll in central Philippine landfill collapse rises to eight