The year 2025 saw several box office champions, though fewer than in previous years. Among them, Disney's live-action remake of Lilo & Stitch notably surpassed the billion-dollar mark, while the video game adaptation A Minecraft Movie nearly achieved the same. Other films like Weapons and Ryan Coogler's Sinners defied expectations, becoming both critical and commercial successes. The global popularity of anime was further cemented by the success of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle.

However, no film in 2025 matched the unprecedented success of the Chinese animated blockbuster Ne Zha 2. This film generated over $2 billion in global revenue, establishing itself as the highest-grossing animated movie in history, a record that is anticipated to be exceptionally difficult to surpass. The film garnered widespread acclaim, with both audiences and critics praising its animated action-adventure narrative. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Ne Zha 2 boasts an impressive 98% approval rating from audiences and a 92% score from critics. The site's consensus describes the film as "Visually spectacular with a hyperactive sense of humor, Ne Zha II is a sequel that supercharges the original's charms while still being accessible for the uninitiated."

Despite its monumental global success, Ne Zha 2 experienced an underperformance upon its release in U.S. theaters, even with a significant promotional push from A24 across more than 2,200 locations nationwide. For those in the U.S. who missed its theatrical run, the record-breaking film will be available for streaming on HBO Max. Ne Zha 2 is scheduled for release on the platform on December 24, making it a perfect holiday viewing option.

The film's synopsis outlines the continuing journey of its protagonists: "After the heavenly lightning, although Ne Zha and Ao Bing survived by becoming Spirits, they would soon dissipate completely. Taiyi plans to rebuild Ne Zha and Ao Bing's mortal bodies with the Seven-colored Precious Lotus. However, during the process of reconstruction, numerous obstacles arise. What will become of the fate of Ne Zha and Ao Bing?"

Directed by Yang Yu, who also contributed to the writing alongside Zhonglin Xu and Xixing Lu, Ne Zha 2 has a runtime of 144 minutes. Wenzhang Liu served as a producer, and the cast includes Lü Yanting as Young Nezha (voice) and Joseph as Youth Nezha/Jie Jie Shou Zuo (voice). The film falls under the genres of Animation, Fantasy, and Adventure, and was released on January 29, 2025.