A man walks past a screen showing a poster of the Chinese animated film Ne Zha 2 before a preview screening at the BFI IMAX theater in London, Britain, on March 14, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Ying)

BEIJING, April 3 (Xinhua) -- China's blockbuster animated sequel "Ne Zha 2" has garnered an astonishing 15.5 billion yuan (about 2.16 billion U.S. dollars) globally, including presales, as of Thursday, per ticketing platform Maoyan's data.

Hitting theaters on Jan. 29 during the Chinese New Year, the Enlight Pictures production is currently the fifth highest-grossing film of all time globally, just behind James Cameron's 1997 epic "Titanic" at nearly 2.27 billion dollars.

It has shattered multiple records: It's the first film ever to cross the 1 billion U.S. dollar mark in a single market, the first non-Hollywood title to join the billion-dollar club, and the highest-grossing animated movie of all time worldwide.

Directed by Yang Yu, known as Jiaozi, the fantasy epic delves deeper into Chinese mythology, following the rebellious boy god Nezha and his ally Aobing as they battle to reconstruct their physical forms. With the help of the immortal Taiyi Zhenren, they navigate a journey of self-discovery, fate and defiance.