TEHRAN – The Book Garden Cineplex in Tehran will screen the Chinese 3D-animated film series “Ne Zha” on the weekend.

The cineplex will show “Ne Zha” (2019) on Thursday and “Ne Zha 2” (2025) on Friday. The film screenings will be followed by a review session as well, ILNA reported.

A fantasy comedy adventure animation, “Ne Zha” is directed and written by Jiaozi. Its animation production is done by the director's own studio, Chengdu Coco Cartoon. Featuring the popular Chinese mythological character Ne Zha, the plot is loosely based on the 16th-century novel “Investiture of the Gods” by Xu Zhonglin.

In the film, a young boy named Ne Zha is the reincarnation of the demon orb, which is separated from the chaos pearl by the Primeval Lord of Heaven, Yuanshi Tianzun. Born with the destructive powers of a demon orb, he finds himself as an outcast who is hated and feared by the townsfolk in Chengtang Pass. Destined by prophecy to bring destruction to the world, the young lad must choose between good and evil in order to break the shackles of fate and become the hero.

Despite being the debut feature of its director and animation studio and having no widely known actors in its voice cast, the film gained critical acclaim and has been one of the biggest commercial successes in Chinese cinema, setting numerous records for box office grosses, including becoming the highest-grossing animated film in China, the highest-grossing film of 2019 in China, the worldwide highest-grossing non-U.S. animated film, and the worldwide second-highest-grossing non-English-language film of all time at the time of its release. With a gross of over $742 million, it was that year's fourth-highest-grossing animated film and China's all-time fifth-highest-grossing film.

“Ne Zha 2” is the direct sequel to “Ne Zha”.  The film takes up the story of Ne Zha and his friend Ao Bing. After a sacrifice, only Ne Zha’s body can be recreated, although he carries Ao Bing’s spirit within. Ne Zha calls on this spirit in his fight against wicked Master Shen.

Like its predecessor, the film received highly positive reviews from critics and achieved even greater commercial success at a gross of $2.2 billion worldwide against a production budget of $80 million. 

“Ne Zha 2” broke numerous box office records inside and outside China, including becoming the highest-grossing film in a single box office territory, the highest-grossing animated film, the highest-grossing adult animated film, the highest-grossing non-English language film, and the first animated film in history to cross the $2 billion mark. It also ranks as the highest-grossing film of 2025 and the fifth-highest-grossing film of all time.

SS/SAB