Picture: Beijing Enlight Pictures
A24 is bringing the groundbreaking and record-breaking animated movie Ne Zha 2 to theaters beginning on August 22nd, 2025, in the United States. If you need a refresher or an introduction to the sequel film that’s now grossed over $2 billion, Netflix has scooped up last-minute rights to the first movie.
Note: This only applies to Netflix US.
Ne Zha was a phenomenon on its first outing, earning about $726 million worldwide and becoming one of the highest-grossing films ever in China at the time. It was selected as China’s official submission for Best International Feature at the 92nd Academy Awards, which helped introduce the character to global audiences beyond its massive domestic run.
As mentioned, this isn’t the first time the movie has streamed on Netflix, as it was first added during the pandemic on May 25th, 2020, and remained on Netflix for two and a half years through November 2022.
Netflix’s re-addition comes equipped with both the original Mandarin audio track and the English dub, allowing you to choose between dub and sub. The movie is also currently available on Peacock and The Roku Channel, among other platforms.
The synopsis for the 2019 film reads, “A young boy is born as the reincarnation of a demonic power, into a society that hates and fears him. Destined by prophecy to bring destruction to the world, Nezha must choose between good and evil to see if he can change his fate.”
This time around, Netflix doesn’t have the rights quite as long as the first time around, but don’t feel like you need to rush to watch it. Our understanding is that Netflix picked up the film for a one-year license, meaning it won’t expire until August 21st, 2026. We’ll keep you posted on its removal through our Leaving Soon section.
Becoming one of the biggest-grossing films of all time and, in addition to being the most successful animated movie in box office history, Ne Zha 2 (also known as Nezha: The Demon Boy Churns the Sea) has quietly taken the Chinese box office by storm and has become a symbol of how the Chinese have become increasingly less reliant on US movies for its theaters.
A24 was announced to be the US distributor for the film this time around, taking over the reins from Well Go USA Entertainment. The film is set to be released in theaters with its English dub beginning on August 22nd. Crystal Lee, Aleks Le, Michelle Yeoh, Vincent Rodriguez II, Rick Zeiff, and Damien Hass headline the cast for this release.
Will the sequel be coming to Netflix? Don’t count on it anytime soon. While we’ve seen some A24 movies released on Netflix in recent years, the first window deal is currently with HBO Max.
Are you going to be rewatching Ne Zha ahead of its sequel distribution in the US? Let us know in the comments.
