Source: China Digital Times (5/27/25)
Netizen Voices: Never-Ending Screenings of “Ne Zha 2” Are “Off the Rails”
By Arthur Kaufman
The Chinese animated film “Ne Zha 2” has continued its record-breaking run, grossing over $2 billion worldwide and remaining on China’s top-five box-office list over 110 days after its release. But the film’s success has belied its curated image and masked a broader chill for the Chinese box office. Many Chinese companies and schools have organised patriotic outings and repeat viewings to boost box-office figures. Articles and comments critical of “Ne Zha 2” have been deleted from social media platforms, and Chinese bloggers and reviewers have reported being criticized or attacked online for expressing dissenting views about the film. Now, news that screenings of the animated blockbuster will be extended to June 30—the fourth extension thus far—has drawn mockery from netizens who wonder whether there will ever be an end to official efforts at promoting the film:
专踢周宁海那条好腿: Wouldn’t it be nice if they could bring things full circle by extending its release to next Lunar New Year?
waldeinsamkeit: This is turning into a joke. Why not extend it straight through to the end of summer vacation?
还不是尽头: Haha, might as well extend it until “Wolf Warrior 3” comes out.
专属小杰哥哥: If you don’t watch “Ne Zha,” you’re not Chinese.
无敌暴龙战士: We’ve fast-forwarded to: “If you don’t watch ____, you’re not Chinese.”
NN: I was banished to Singapore because I didn’t watch “Ne Zha.”
余杭: While it’s normal for theatrical releases to be extended, it’s obvious that the wall-to-wall publicity for “Ne Zha 2” has sapped whatever goodwill it once had.
横蛮但却恐惧: Couldn’t you theatres and film associations manage to coordinate with each other to show some other movies? Over the past few months, there have been a few new movies I honestly wanted to see, but they never showed up in theatres. Theatres have just been extending release dates and rescreening old films day after day. I’m baffled—I want to go out and spend money but they won’t let me.
立鑫: In the past, no matter how good a movie was, it would never stay in theatres this long. Besides investors trying to wring the last bit of profit out of a dying market, there’s an acute shortage of resources being invested in film.
Joe.: It’s kind of gone off the rails. These endless extensions just to chase box office clout seem pointless.[Chinese] Continue reading Never-ending screenings of ‘Ne Zha 2’