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Trinity CineAsia has acquired theatrical distribution rights for Chinese animated box office smash “Ne Zha 2” across 37 European territories, including important markets like the U.K., Ireland, Germany, France, and Spain. The film will be released in the U.K. and Ireland on March 21st, with advance preview sessions starting March 14th.
“Ne Zha 2,” produced by Beijing Enlight Media, became the all-time highest-grossing animated film, dethroning Pixar’s “Inside Out 2.” It also became the first non-Hollywood film to join the global all-time top 10 box office chart. The film is currently the sixth highest-grossing in the world, behind only “Avatar,” “Avatar: The Way of Water,” “Avengers: Endgame,” “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” and “Titanic.”
Since its release in China on January 29, the film has grossed over $2 billion, a record-breaking $1 billion in China alone—a first for an animated film. The film’s success verifies the growing global popularity of Chinese animation and makes “Ne Zha 2” a cultural milestone.
Trinity CineAsia managing director Cedric Behrel labeled the film “a turning point” not only for the distributor, but for the entire European film industry. He described it as a film that “defines the era” and highlights cinema’s unique capacity for culture-to-culture connection.
Directed by Jiao Zi, “Ne Zha 2” has the demon child Ne Zha born and raised by humans join forces with dragon prince Ao Bing to find a magical elixir. Their quest reveals a grander conspiracy that threatens to unleash a war between good and evil. The sequel expands the first film’s motifs of destiny and self-determination to institutional critique and moral ambiguity.
The movie, which was five years in the making by 4,000 animators, is also a technical feat. It features nearly 2,000 visual effects shots and battles with up to 200 million individually animated characters—a record scope in animation.
Trinity CineAsia, which introduced Asian action and martial arts films to the European market, sees “Ne Zha 2” as a giant leap forward in its vision of reaching out to different audiences with good storytelling from Asia.
