Prior to the 2010s, it was very rare for a movie to earn over $1 billion worldwide; only a handful of titles accomplished that feat. However, over the past 15 years, $1 billion grosses have become more frequent. A total of 57 films in history have reached the milestone. While $1 billion isn’t so rare anymore, $2 billion remains a difficult mountain to climb. Only the biggest of pop culture events, like Avatar, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and Avengers: Endgame, have hit that mark. Now, those blockbuster titans have some unlikely company. One of the year’s most surprising box office successes has become the latest movie to cross $2 billion.
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According to The Numbers, the worldwide box office haul for Chinese animated sequel Ne Zha 2 now stands at $2 billion. It becomes just the seventh film ever to make that much in theaters. Unsurprisingly, given the project’s origins, Ne Zha 2 has made a majority of its money internationally ($1.977 billion). Only $23.2 million has come from the domestic box office. Check out the full list of movies to gross $2 billion in the space below:
- Avatar ($2.923 billion)
- Avengers: Endgame ($2.717 billion)
- Avatar: The Way of Water ($2.320 billion)
- Titanic ($2.223 billion)
- Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($2.056 billion)
- Avengers: Infinity War ($2.048 billion)
- Ne Zha 2 ($2.000 billion)
Will Ne Zha 2 Be the Highest-Grossing Film of 2025?
Punching its ticket into such an exclusive box office club, Ne Zha 2 is obviously the highest-grossing film of 2025 to date. Only one American release so far has even hit the $1 billion mark so far. That would be Disney’s live-action Lilo & Stitch remake, which grossed $1.033 billion. The next closest on the global chart is A Minecraft Movie at $953.7 million. No other film has crossed the $900 million milestone. This means that for the time being, Ne Zha 2‘s lead is safe.
Looking ahead to the fall and winter, there are some high-profile releases that should perform well commercially, but it would be a tall ask for them to hit $2 billion. Wicked: For Good would have to significantly out-gross its predecessor (Wicked earned $756 million worldwide) in order to challenge Ne Zha 2. Disney’s Zootopia 2 is a sequel to one of those 57 films that earned $1 billion, but it would also need to make a massive leap. The original Zootopia topped out at $1.025 billion.
The most realistic contender for the crown is Avatar: Fire and Ash, which hits theaters in December. The first two installments of James Cameron’s epic sci-fi franchise easily cleared $2 billion, setting the bar very high for the upcoming threequel. It would be foolish to just assume a movie is going to gross $2 billion worldwide. That’s a significant sum of money only a handful of films have earned. But three of those films have been directed by Cameron. He exists in his own tier of box office prowess, routinely putting up figures that largely go unmatched. Cameron’s been doubted before, but he’s proven himself time and time again, so many people may predict that Fire and Ash surpasses Ne Zha 2.
It will be interesting to see how Fire and Ash fares at the box office. It’ll undoubtedly perform well; the question is how well. The first Avatar had the novelty of revolutionary visual effects that made it a must-see experience, while The Way of Water benefitted from the extended gap between installments. Fire and Ash is arriving just three years after The Way of Water, so maybe the demand won’t be as high. Again, nobody’s saying Fire and Ash is in danger of bombing, but $2 billion is a lot. And even if Avatar 3 reaches $2 billion, it could still end up being slightly behind Ne Zha 2 depending on what the animated sequel’s final total is. There is a scenario where Ne Zha 2 ends the year in the No. 1 spot.
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Image courtesy of Lucasfilm.
