For decades, when people thought of animated blockbusters, the conversation usually surrounded Disney and Pixar titles. From The Lion King to Toy Story , Frozen to Finding Nemo , the Western giants of animation built an empire of films that defined childhoods and set global box office standards beyond reach. However, in 2024, something remarkable happened. Pixar’s Inside Out 2 became the highest-grossing animated movie of all time , earning a staggering $1.699 billion worldwide. It looked like Pixar had reclaimed its throne at the very peak of animated cinema. Yet that triumph was short-lived.

In early 2025, a Chinese animated feature, Ne Zha II , arrived like a storm and shattered every expectation. The international film toppled Inside Out 2 ’s fresh record

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