We get into the nitty gritty details of the back half of Ne Zha 2 as well as dive into the cultural war between the US and China and specifically China's rapid gains in dominating the worldwide box office seemingly all on its own.

Timestamps

(00:00) Na Zha 2 spoilers (37:20) China, America, the global box office, and international influence (1:15:05) American culture, past and future

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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