China's 'Ne Zha 2' marks a 'DeepSeek moment' for global film industry

Editor's note: Ankit Prasad is a CGTN Biz commentator. The article reflects the author's views and not necessarily those of CGTN.

The recent Spring Festival holiday in China witnessed the celebration of at least two remarkable homegrown successes in different fields. The emergence of DeepSeek's artificial intelligence (AI) model has reshaped the global discourse around AI. The other, while appreciated for its revenue and box office prowess, also marks a deeply significant and arguably far less expected breakthrough – in the global film industry.

The February 14 North America release of the all-conquering Chinese animated fantasy film "Ne Zha 2" (Ne Zha: Demon Child Conquers the Sea) marks the arrival of the only non-Hollywood member of the current top 50 highest-grossing movies in history. This constantly-evolving list which is inherently biased against older films due to the steady march of inflation, has nonetheless also over the years come to represent the dominance of the US film market. That dominance is no longer a certainty, nor is it desirable from movie-buffs' point of view.

In its meteoric rise to the billion club ($1.33 billion at the time of publishing as per box office tracker Maoyan), perhaps the most meaningful record "Ne Zha 2" broke was when its China earnings crossed the $936 million US earnings of 2015's "Star Wars Episode 7: The Force Awakens" to become the highest-grossing single market film in history. It meant that a Chinese film had grossed more in the Chinese market than the highest Hollywood gross in the US market ever.

Not only was this a stunning vindication of the Chinese film market, but also of the country's film industry. "Ne Zha 2" was released during the Spring Festival holiday, along with a long list of highly-anticipated blockbuster releases. "Detective Chinatown 1900," which was released on the same day and stars Chow Yun-fat among others in a sequel to highly successful films, has grossed almost $400 million in China, establishing its competitiveness and scale.

As per Gower Street Analytics, the global box office in 2025 will reach $33 billion, up 8 percent from 2024, of which the US market is forecast to comprise $9.7 billion (up 9 percent). The Chinese market, many would be surprised to know, is estimated to have raked in $6 billion in 2024 and is poised to grow to $6.6 billion this year. Gower Street's figures, which pre-date "Ne Zha 2" are open in taking a "conservative estimate" on China, are also bullish about big-budget Hollywood blockbusters coming this year such as "Avatar 3," Marvel's "The Fantastic Four: First Steps," DC's "Superman" reboot, as well as releases in "Mission: Impossible," "Jurassic World" and other universes. 

What's interesting to note, however, is that big foreign releases have traditionally done very well in China. From the "Avengers" to the "Fast & Furious" films, US movies have made big bucks in China. And it's not only American films, even Indian movies like "Dangal" and "Secret Superstar" have shown the potential to earn more revenue in China than they can often make at home. This capability – to be large and open enough to lend critical mass and make even a foreign film a runaway financial success – is unique to the Chinese market, making it in many ways one of the top global marketplaces for films.

Finally, another way that "Ne Zha 2" is comparable to DeepSeek is in terms of quality, cost and values. While much has been made of DeepSeek being open source – made by China, for the world – the "Ne Zha" series also draws on the traditional Chinese source material and is said to be loosely based on tales from a 16th-century novel "Investiture of the Gods." The story-telling, as anyone who's seen 2019's first "Ne Zha" film's English dub, is on par in terms of entertainment and coherence with any Western release. And as for the animation, even 5 years ago, the first film would not have been amiss coming from the famed stables of Disney or Pixar. All this, for an estimated cost that is far less – in terms of money though not man-hours and effort – than comparable films from the US or from Japan's hallowed Studio Ghibli.   

"Ne Zha 2" may indeed mark the coming-of-age of the Chinese film market on the global stage. Now, with its highest-grossing movie of all time making waves and breaking records, ambitious production houses the world over will be taking note.