Propelled by enthusiasm from fans domestically as well as overseas, Ne Zha 2, China's box office champion, has made history by surpassing Pixar's blockbuster Inside Out 2 to become the world's highest-grossing animated film of all time.

As of Tuesday evening, 20 days after the movie's premiere on the first day of the Spring Festival holiday, which is the country's most lucrative box office season, Ne Zha 2 has earned 12.35 billion yuan ($1.69 billion), including presales and revenue from overseas markets such as North America and Australia.

The movie has also risen to become the world's eighth highest-grossing film and is the sole non-Hollywood film on the top 10 list, according to industry trackers Maoyan Pro and Beacon.

As the sequel to the 2019 runaway hit Ne Zha, the movie continues to use a subverted way to narrate the legend of its titular character, a 3-year-old deity who rides on flaming wheels and wields a red ribbon to harness his superpowers. The film has garnered widespread acclaim for portraying the character as someone who bravely fights an unfair fate and pursues his own path.

Widely regarded as representing the pinnacle of Chinese animation, the movie took five years to produce, and involved over 4,000 animators from 138 companies who created more than 1,900 visual-effect shots.

Lu Shengzhang, the former dean of Communication University of China's Department of Animation and Comics, told China Daily that the film, loosely inspired by the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) classic Fengshen Yanyi (Investiture of the Gods), shows that the country's rich history and culture can serve as a gold mine to inspire further appealing movie stories.

Evita Mei, a Chinese immigrant in Tauranga, a city on New Zealand's North Island, told China Daily that she took her teenage son to watch the film, and that most of her neighbors and friends in the Chinese community have a sense of national pride.

Some families see the film as a way to enhance youngsters' understanding of Chinese mythology and literature.

Melina Weber, a German citizen who is living in Beijing, said that Ne Zha 2 was the only film she watched during the Spring Festival holiday, adding that she was impressed by the movie's presentation of Chinese culture in various ways, such as showcasing local food and beautiful landscapes.

xufan@chinadaily.com.cn