Ne Zha 2 merchandise is produced in Dongguan, Guangdong province. [Photo by Cao Lijuan/for chinadaily.com.cn]
Sales are soaring for merchandise from the film Ne Zha 2, which recently became the sole Asian film listed in the world's top 30 highest-grossing films of all time.
As of Monday, the film's box office has surpassed 8 billion yuan ($1.1 billion), making it a top player in global animated films and sparking a frenzy of offline merchandise purchases.
Ne Zha 2 merchandise is produced in Dongguan, Guangdong province. [Photo by Cao Lijuan/for chinadaily.com.cn]
Second-hand markets have seen the IP's merch selling at several times their original price, with "Hard to find Ne Zha 2 items" becoming a hot topic on social media platforms.
The colored papers and badges are produced by Guangdong Henglitai Crafts in Dongguan, Guangdong province.
Ne Zha 2 merchandise is produced in Dongguan, Guangdong province. [Photo by Cao Lijuan/for chinadaily.com.cn]
"We didn't expect such a frenzy of offline purchases for Ne Zha 2 merchandise," said Chen Qi, general manager of Guangdong Henglitai Crafts.
When the company resumed operations after the Spring Festival holiday on Friday, the company's client FunCrazy, the film's official cooperation brand, placed an order for over 1 million sets of merchandise.
Ne Zha 2 merchandise is seen in Dongguan, Guangdong province. [Photo by Cao Lijuan/for chinadaily.com.cn]
"We are also concurrently working on designing new styles of such items to meet the growing market demand," said Chen.
The trendy toy company started with badge manufacturing and gradually became a renowned player covering global IPs.
Ne Zha 2 merchandise is produced in Dongguan, Guangdong province. [Photo by Cao Lijuan/for chinadaily.com.cn]
The company's annual sales skyrocketed from 100 million yuan in 2022 to 300 million yuan in 2024, with its market share in China jumping from 20 percent to 70 percent.
"The success of Ne Zha 2 proves that Chinese animation IPs can completely rival those of Japanese and American giants," said Chen.
Ne Zha 2 merchandise is produced in Dongguan, Guangdong province. [Photo by Cao Lijuan/for chinadaily.com.cn]
The company plans to collaborate with brand partners to develop more peripheral characters while exploring new techniques such as metal sculpting and dynamic lighting effects, according to Chen.
"A combination of high-quality content and manufacturing capability is the key to breaking new ground in the IP merchandise series," he said.
Ne Zha 2 merchandise is produced in Dongguan, Guangdong province. [Photo by Cao Lijuan/for chinadaily.com.cn]
The popularity of Ne Zha 2 merchandise is attributed to the film's impact and the exquisite craftsmanship of the manufacturing in Dongguan, according to Chen. "For example, our acrylic colored paper utilizes a silver spring fine flash technique, presenting the dynamic effects of movie scenes under different lighting conditions."
Ne Zha 2 merchandise is produced in Dongguan, Guangdong province. [Photo by Cao Lijuan/for chinadaily.com.cn]
After receiving orders in October, the company delivered over 300,000 sets of products in early January, including acrylic cards, colored paper, fridge magnets, clips and transparent cards.
"Brand partners are requesting restocks, so once we resume operations after the Spring Festival holiday, we ramp up production," said Chen.
