New Sequel Becomes the Highest-Grossing Movie of 2026 by Far (& You Haven’t Even Heard of It)

Last year, the highest-grossing film at the worldwide box office wasn’t a major Hollywood blockbuster like Zootopia 2 or Avatar: Fire and Ash. It was Ne Zha 2, an animated Chinese fantasy film. Grossing over $2.2 billion during its run, the sequel was the latest member of a rather exclusive box office club, becoming an unprecedented phenomenon. Ne Zha 2 is the fifth-highest-grossing movie of all time globally despite earning just $23.3 million in the United States, demonstrating how big the Chinese box office can be. We’re only a couple of months into 2026, and a similar situation could be brewing with the release of another Chinese sequel American audiences might be unfamiliar with.

According to Variety, the Chinese racing comedy sequel Pegasus 3 grossed $369.3 million in its first six days in theaters. That easily makes it the highest earning film of the year so far. Its figure is significantly larger than Wuthering Heights, which is currently the No. 1 Hollywood movie of the year with $152.1 million.

Will Pegasus 3 Be One of the Top Movies at the 2026 Box Office?

Similar to Ne Zha 2, Pegasus 3 was released over the Chinese Lunar New Year weekend, which is why it was such a massive box office hit. Moviegoers celebrated the holiday by going out to the theater to see the sequel. It remains to be seen how Pegasus 3 will fare from here, but it’s already worth wondering if it can be one of the highest-grossing films of the year. With nearly $400 million earned already, it has decent odds of securing a top 10 finish. In 2025, the No. 10 film worldwide was Superman, which grossed $618.7 million worldwide. Pegasus 3 is about $250 million shy of that number, so barring a massive drop after a high opening, it should easily clear $600 million.

Since it’s still early in the year, many of 2026’s most anticipated releases are months away from release. Predicting the box office in the post-pandemic landscape can be difficult, but there are several major Hollywood productions that should be sizable draws this year. The summer alone has a stretch that could produce four $1 billion hits, as Toy Story 5, Minions & Monsters, Moana, and Spider-Man: Brand New Day all open within six weeks of each other. There’s also noteworthy titles such as The Mandalorian and Grogu, The Odyssey, Dune: Part Three, and Avengers: Doomsday on the way, so Pegasus 3 will be facing stiff competition from Hollywood all throughout the year.

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There’s a chance there are several Hollywood movies that approach $700 million worldwide this year, but there’s also a chance some of these films underwhelm. Outside of the top 10 last year were big franchise installments like Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and Wicked: For Good. Months out, it’s easy to say a certain movie has great box office prospects, but nothing is guaranteed until the films actually come out. If a couple of this year’s tentpoles slip up, that’ll open the door for Pegasus 3 to clinch a top 10 spot — especially if its large opening is a springboard to a massive run.

Ultimately, whether or not Pegasus 3 ends up in the top 10 by the end of the year will be determined by how well it holds. In America, typically when a movie has a sizable opening, there’s a steep second weekend drop because the hype has died down somewhat. That could happen in this case, but it’s worth remembering that Ne Zha 2 maintained momentum at the box office for weeks en route to a $2 billion haul. That was an animated family film as opposed to a live-action comedy, so it isn’t exactly an apples to apples comparison, but it shows that Chinese audiences will continue to come out in full force if they truly love a movie.

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