The Chinese animated blockbuster Nezha 2 was released in late January along with several other films during the local spring festival.
VCG |Visual China Group |Getty Images
Beijing – For those who have lived in China since the pandemic, the success of the animated film NE ZHA 2 marks an industry milestone, not a surprise.
After the end of Covid-19 restrictions, the stability of native animation Drumbeat started in 2023, with popular versions like “Chang An” from his friend’s perspective. It’s about $250 million According to Maoyan’s box office data, it is the only animated film in China of the year.
The team behind “Chang An” (Light Chaser Animation) works in an old white building in a sleepy suburb of Beijing. The ceiling is high; the stairs pass through the building, connecting the multi-story and the room, and a gym.
When I visited this week, some animators (working on a computer in the dark) were competing to complete the movie lighting effects of this summer’s movie scene. Others designed historic Chinese robes, detailed eyebrows and rebuilt buildings.
“This place is not big enough,” said Yu Zhou, the studio chairman, in a CNBC translation.
He said the 380-person company needs to hire at least 100 employees next year to keep up with its new production plan: two movies will be released each year starting in 2026, up from the current year. He said artificial intelligence can only become a tool now. Light Chaser plans to move to a new office in the second half of this year.
As of February 2025, Beijing-based Light Chaser Animation Company has more than 380 employees.
The studio insists on a three-year production plan using all the films produced simultaneously. Yu said it tried to imagine the future and whether it would watch 20 million to 30 million people when the movie was released. “Will this story work in three years?”
The film was originally scheduled this summer, “The Curious Story of the Temple”, retelling the Chinese ghost story. He said the studio is in talks with “Hollywood mainstream players” to release movies overseas in theaters including North America, along with a planned China launch.
Yu, in hint at the studio’s appeal among global audiences, claimed that Light Chaser’s “Green Snake” (a rendition of Chinese legend, all partly placed on Netflix in a futuristic city, Performs good English content on Netflix for three weeks after launching in 2021.
Among other animation features in the work, video mobile company iqiyi “Master Zhong” is being developed and is expected to be released in China this year. Ya Ning, the company’s senior vice president, said Chinese animation has begun to break its “childish” image and is becoming an industry that has also expanded to film merchandise and games.
Recent History
Over the past decade, Chinese animated films have just begun to cause a sensation.
“In the history of Chinese animation, there is Never had a movie like “Big Fish and Autumn Sea Rat”. ”
This movie is Inspire the media. This is the producer behind “NE ZHA 2” and “NE ZHA 1” released this year in 2019, and stood out at the box office in China that year.
Beijing studio Octmedia’s “Deep Sea” won praise in early 2023, with its fantasy pastel colors presenting a young girl’s journey to healing after her mother was abandoned.
While popularity hasn’t always turned into a box office sale, “NE ZHA 2” was able to partially succeed because it appeals to people of all ages. Liu said he was proud of the achievements of the Chinese animation industry, but he didn’t expect another “ne zha 2” The blockbusters are in the near future – at least until “NE ZHA 3” is released in 2028.
According to Maoyan, “NE ZHA 2” is one of six movies during the Spring Festival holidays a week and has earned half of the box office during this period. After its release in North America on February 14, Maoyan Data showed the film beat Pixar’s “Inside Out 2”, the world’s highest animated film with ticket sales of over 13 billion yuan ($1.79 billion).
Strategy and Plan
Contrary to Light Chaser’s focus on in-house production, the manufacturer of “NE ZHA 2” relies on various studios. Director of the cocoa cartoon from Chengdu, and Inspire the media is the main manufacturer and distributor. Chinese state media says nearly 140 businesses Contributed to production.
The national media also emphasized how Government subsidies From Chengdu to Qingdao Help support domestic animation. Beijing has formulated a national plan in 2021Building China into a major film performer“By 2035, which includes a call to produce 50 movies each year, there will be at least $100 million in box office sales every year.
Jonathan Clements, author of Anime: History, warns that overproduction of films can unpleasantly shock studios and investors. “Animation consumers themselves are resources that require careful management,” he said.
Clements added that in contrast to Disney blockbuster sales of more than $1 billion in box office sales in multiple countries, “NE ZHA 2” is mainly due to sales in China. “You don’t have to worry about whether your story, character or your attitude will play a role in other countries.”
China’s plan also stipulates that domestic films should be considered At least 55% of the annual box office in the country Sales volume.
When Hollywood movies were allowed to enter China, interest in family audiences gradually diminished. According to Maoyan, “Godzilla X Kong” was the only person to attack the top ten last year. “Oppenheimer” failed to enter China’s 20 highest-grossing movies in 2023, “Barbie doll” even lag behind.
As early as 2019, “Avengers: endgame” ranked third in the domestic box office, second only to the Chinese science fiction sensation “Hanging the Earth” and the first “Ne Zha” film.
Many Chinese animated TV series have characters and plots from stories written online by relatively unknown authors. Chinese Literaturethe operator of the main application for user-generated content says Among the most popular online animation series, there are 15 In the first half of last year, based on content on its platform – it has also begun adapting on YouTube over the past few years as it strives to expand its audience.
Chinese creators also use generated AI to make movies. Short video streaming application Different A seven-part mini series “New World Loading” is being released, which was largely created using the company’s Kling AI for video generation. Director Chen Wu said the team just fed AI model simple scripts without having to draw characters.
