The new king of the Chinese box office is an adorably ugly, demonic child fighting off monsters.

中国的票房新王者是一个长得丑得可爱，有着恶魔气息的打怪小孩。

In less than two weeks since its release, “Ne Zha 2,” an animated film based loosely on Chinese mythology and a famous 16th century novel, has become the highest-grossing movie ever in China, with more than $1 billion in ticket sales. It is also the first film not made by a Hollywood studio to cross that mark.

上映还不到两周，动画电影《哪吒2》票房已突破90亿元，创下中国影史票房纪录。它大致取材于中国神话和一部16世纪的著名小说。它也是第一部达到这一里程碑的非好莱坞电影。

The blockbuster delivered a rare dose of good news for the Chinese film industry, which is struggling with anemic ticket sales and a slumping economy. The few films that break through the malaise are no longer Hollywood titles, but domestic features teeming with patriotic messaging or rooted in traditional Chinese culture or folklore.

这部大片为中国电影业带来了一点难得的好消息，该行业正在票房不佳和经济低迷中苦苦挣扎。少数几部票房表现突出的电影不再是好莱坞大片，而是传递大量爱国主义信息或植根于中国传统文化或民间传说的国产电影。

“Ne Zha 2” is a sequel to what had been the highest-grossing animated film in China. In the 2019 original, Nezha is born as the reincarnation of a demon with supernatural powers, but destined to live only three years. He fights back against his fate and saves his village.

《哪吒2》是中国票房最高的动画电影的续集。在于2019年上映的前作里，哪吒是一个拥有超自然力量的魔丸转世，但注定只能在世上活三年。他反抗命运并拯救了自己的村庄。

In the sequel, Nezha revisits a similar theme. He challenges the political order and authority governing gods and demons, fighting the Dragon King of the Four Seas and other creatures.

续集重温了类似的主题。他挑战统治神仙和妖怪的政治秩序和权威，与四海龙王和其他神话生物战斗。

“ ‘Ne Zha 2’ is the rare movie that hits all the marks,” said Raymond Zhou, an independent Chinese film critic. “It targets all demographics, and has successfully won over all of them.”

“《哪吒2》是一部罕见的取得全面成功的电影，”中国的独立电影评论家周黎明说。“它把所有的人作为目标观众，并成功赢得了所有人的心。”

The movie has pulled in $1.2 billion in ticket sales since its release on Jan. 29, at the start of the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday, according to Maoyan, a Chinese entertainment data provider. Its haul is already more than double the highest-grossing movie of 2024. The film, distributed by CMC Pictures, will be released in North America on Friday.

据中国娱乐数据提供商猫眼，这部电影自1月29日的农历新年假期开始时上映以来，票房收入已达到90.1亿元，这已经是2024年票房最高的电影的两倍多。这部由华人影业发行的电影将于周五在北美上映。

上海一家电影院，影迷们与动画电影《哪吒2》中的角色合影。

Chinese state media and Communist Party officials celebrated the movie’s success, portraying it as a recognition of China’s cultural influence.

中国的官方媒体和中共官员们都在庆祝这部电影的成功，将其描述为人们对中国文化影响力的认可。

“Chinese culture is constantly moving forward in inheritance and innovation and showing its unique charm,” wrote the Global Times, a Communist Party tabloid.

“（这部电影的成功是）中国文化在传承与创新中不断前行、展现独特魅力的有力见证，”中共小报《环球时报》写道。

China Daily, a state-run newspaper, said in an opinion essay that “Ne Zha 2” symbolizes the country’s “growing cultural confidence.” It called it evidence that China’s entertainment industry is telling its own stories instead of relying on Western studios to make movies based on Chinese folklore, citing “Mulan” from Walt Disney Studios as an example.

官方英文报纸《中国日报》在一篇评论文章中说，《哪吒2》是中国“日益增强的文化自信”的象征。文章称影片证明了中国娱乐业正在讲述自己的故事，而不是靠西方电影公司来制作基于中国民间传说的电影，比如迪士尼公司出品的《花木兰》。

“ ‘Ne Zha 2’ reclaims the storytelling mantle, proving that no one can narrate China’s myths better than China itself,” the essay stated.

“《哪吒2》重新承担起讲故事的重任，证明了没有人比中国自己更能讲述中国的神话了，”文章指出。

Traditional Chinese culture has also inspired breakthroughs in other forms of entertainment. In video games, Black Myth: Wukong, based on a classic 16th century Chinese novel called “Journey to the West,” was an instant hit when it came out last year.

中国传统文化也激发了其他娱乐形式的突破。在电子游戏领域，改编自16世纪的中国经典小说《西游记》的《黑神话：悟空》游戏去年甫一推出即大获成功。

Until “Ne Zha 2,” the top-grossing Chinese films tapped into the country’s deepening nationalistic fervor. The previous No. 1, “The Battle at Lake Changjin,” is a 2021 film about a group of Chinese volunteers who defeated American soldiers during the Korean War. Close behind was “Wolf Warrior 2,” a 2017 action film in which a Chinese former special forces soldier takes on an American villain.

在《哪吒2》之前，中国票房最高的电影都是利用中国日益高涨的民族主义激情的片子。之前票房最高的电影是2021年上映的《长津湖》，该片讲述的是中国人民志愿军在朝鲜战争期间打败美国军队的故事。紧随其后的是《战狼2》，这部2017年上映的动作片讲述了一名曾在中国特种部队服役的人与美国反派较量的故事。

It’s been a tough stretch overall for Chinese films, however. Box office sales fell 23 percent last year, according to the China Film Administration, a government regulator.

但整体来说，中国电影的日子过得十分艰难。据政府监管机构中国电影局的数据，去年的票房收入同比下跌了23%。

The industry has gotten a boost from China’s broader efforts to stimulate consumer spending and reinvigorate a sluggish economy. The government added an extra day to the more than weeklong New Year holiday, giving moviegoers more time to go to the theater. In addition, there were discounts, subsidies and other incentives for movie tickets.

中国政府已为刺激消费支出、重振低迷的经济采取了更广泛措施，电影行业也受到了这些措施的推动。往年的春节假期通常是一周，今年政府让人们多放了一天假，让电影观众有更多时间去影院看电影。此外还有影票折扣、补贴和其他激励措施。

But Mr. Zhou, the film critic, said the incentives did not explain the success of “Ne Zha 2.” He credited the franchise’s popularity to its spin on classic tales and characters, resonating with younger audiences.

然而，影评人周黎明表示，这些激励措施不能解释《哪吒2》的成功。他认为该系列电影之所以受欢迎，是因为它改编自经典传说和人物，引起了年轻观众的共鸣。

As the world’s second-largest movie market, after the United States, Chinese audiences were once a dependable source of ticket sales for Hollywood blockbusters.

中国是仅次于美国的世界第二大电影市场，中国观众曾是好莱坞大片票房的可靠来源。

That is no longer the case. Last year, “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” was the only U.S. movie in the top 10 of China’s box office, ranking ninth. In 2023, no American film cracked the top 10.

现在已不再是这样。去年，《哥斯拉大战金刚2：帝国崛起》在中国票房排名第九，是排名前十的电影中唯一的一部美国大片。2023年，没有一部美国电影进入前十。

Hu Xijin, a former editor in chief of the Global Times, said China’s decision to open up to Hollywood films in the 1990s helped advance the country’s movie industry, but China can now stand on its own.

《环球时报》的前总编辑胡锡进表示，中国在20世纪90年代做出决定，向好莱坞电影开放市场，推动了本国电影业的发展，现在中国的电影行业能靠自己的力量发展了。

“This is the best Chinese animation I have ever seen,” Mr. Hu wrote on Weibo, a social media platform. “The era when Chinese people looked up to Hollywood cartoons like ‘Kung Fu Panda’ and marveled at them is over.”

“这是我看过的中国最棒的动画片，”胡锡进在社交媒体平台微博上写道。“中国人仰望《功夫熊猫》那些好莱坞动画片并啧啧称奇的时代结束了。”