'Ne Zha 2' premieres in Macao as box office soars

MACAO -- Chinese mainland's animated blockbuster "Ne Zha 2" premiered on Wednesday night in Macao and was officially scheduled to hit Macao theaters on Saturday.

The film premiered in Hong Kong on Tuesday and garnered significant attention in both Hong Kong and Macao.

A sequel to the 2019 hit "Ne Zha," "Ne Zha 2" gained wide popularity thanks to its contemporary re-imagination of Ne Zha, a well-known mythical figure with extraordinary powers, and via its intriguing plot twists.

"Seven cinemas and 42 Macao screening rooms have scheduled 60 screenings of 'Ne Zha 2,'" said Ding Kai with the Sil-Metropole Organization Ltd, a co-distributor of the film, adding that more shows will be added in the coming days.

Leong Wai Man, head of Macao's Cultural Affairs Bureau, said that this film's success will inspire Macao's cinema industry to focus more on Chinese culture as a theme in the future, creatively incorporating cultural elements into animated films and other audiovisual works.

With a long history, Macao's Ne Zha beliefs were listed in 2014 as part of China's national intangible cultural heritage.

A Macao resident named Pang told Xinhua he was looking forward to watching the premiere with his family to see Ne Zha's charm.

Since its release in the Chinese mainland during the Chinese New Year, "Ne Zha 2" has proved a smashing success at the box office, with total earnings worldwide, including pre-sales, surpassing 12.3 billion Chinese yuan ($1.72 billion) as of Tuesday evening.

This figure positions the film ahead of "Inside Out 2," making it the highest-grossing animated film globally.