Ne Zha 2 is the fifth highest grossing film of all time worldwide, so why hasn't anyone in the US really seen or heard about it? We talk about the awful, no good animated film Foodfight! (2012) first, followed by our guessing game for related screenings, then get into Investiture of the Gods, Ne Zha 1 from 2019 and Ne Zha 2 released earlier this year in China and subbed in the US and most recently dubbed in English for another release that has landed with a thud stateside. Our follow up episode tomorrow will get into both spoilers for Ne Zha 2 and a discussion on why it has not found success in the United States and the cultural war between these two regions.

Works Cited

• Avengers: Endgame (Russo Brothers, 2019)
• The Battle at Lake Changjin (Chen Kaige, Tsui Hark, Dante Lam, 2021)
• Barbie (Greta Gerwig, 2023)
• Beowulf (Robert Zemeckis, 2007)
• Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science, 2024)
• The Boy and the Heron (Hiyao Miyazaki, 2023)
• 'The Boy and the Heron' review (Sam B., 2023)
• The Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force (Wuershan, 2025)
• The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008)
• Doctor Strange (Scott Derrickson, 2016)
• Detective Chinatown 3 (Chen Sicheng, 2021)
• Foodfight! (Lawrence Kasanoff, 2012)
• 'Foodfight!' review (Devan Scott, 2025)
• Full River Red (Zhang Yimou, 2023)
• Genshin Impact (MiHoYo, 2020)
• Hi, Mom (Jia Ling, 2021)
• Hollywood Searches For 'Pot Of Gold' In China : NPR (Renee Montagne and Kim Masters, 2013)
• Homefront (Kaos Games, 2011)
• Gamasutra - Features - Kaos Descends: How Homefront's Developer Met its End (Leigh Alexander, 2012)
• Homefront: Invasion Media, Justified Violence, Images with No Substance (Steven Santana, 2023)
• Light of Motiram (Tencent, 2025)
• How China's Soft Power is Rewriting Asian Culture (Brabim Karki, 2025)
• The Investiture of the Gods (Xu Zhonglin, circa 16th century)
• Iron Man (Jon Favreau, 2008)
• Iron Man 3 (Shane Black, 2013)
• Journey to the West (Wu Cheng'en, circa 1592)
• Journey to the West (Steven Chow, Derek Kwok, 2013)
• The Karate Kid (Harald Zwart, 2010)
• Kingdom of Loathing (Asymmetric Publications, 2003)
• Looper (Rian Johnson, 2012)
• Ne Zha (Jiaozi, 2019)
• Ne Zha 2 (Jiaozi, 2025)
• "Ne Zha: China's Symbol of Rebellion" (Accented Cinema, 2025)
• Nazha Conquers the Dragon King (Wang Shuchen, Yan Ding Xian, Xu Jingda, 1980)
• Oppenheimer (Christopher Nolan, 2023)
• The Polar Express (Robert Zemeckis, 2004)
• "ROTTEN: Behind the Foodfight" (Ok so…, 2024)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (Gore Verbinski, 2007)
• Red Dawn (Dan Bradley, 2012)
• Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Luo Guanzhong, 14th century)
• Soleimani Death: Spider-Man, SpongeBob Only US Heroes, Iran Cleric Says - Business Insider (Sahar Esfandiari, 2020)
• Spider-Man: No Way Home (Jon Watts, 2021)
• The State of Video Gaming in 2025, p.77 (Matthew Ball, 2025)
• The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic, 2024)
• 3 Body Problem (David Benioff, D. B. Weiss, Alexander Woo, 2024)
• Transformers: Age of Extinction (Michael Bay, 2014)
• Total Recall (Len Wiseman, 2012)
• The Wandering Earth (Frant Gwo, 2019)
• The Wandering Earth 2 (Frant Gwo, 2023)
• The Unholy Truth Behind 'Black Myth: Wukong's Massive Sales and False Hype (Shannon Liao, 2024)
• Water Gate Bridge (Dante Lam, Chen Kaige, Tsui Hark, 2022)
• What Is 'Ne Zha 2'? How It Became the Biggest Animated Movie Ever (David Opie, 2025)
• Yolo (Jia Ling, 2024)

Find us elsewhere!

Ben Verschoor

• https://cinema-purgatorio.ghost.io/
• https://letterboxd.com/jamn4sure/
• @benverschoor.bsky.social

Steven Santana

• https://breakingarrows.substack.com/
• https://letterboxd.com/number8axel/
• @number8axel.bsky.social‬

Opening music is Root Beer Rag by Billy Joel

Closing music is G-Spot Tornado by Frank Zappa

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