China’s demand for Avatar: Fire and Ash looks weak because local animation and war films are dominating the box office, pulling audiences away from Hollywood sequels. In 2025, Chinese moviegoers have shown strong preference for homegrown hits like the animation blockbuster Ne Zha 2, which raked in $2.2 billion globally, mostly from China, leaving little room for imports like Avatar: Fire and Ash.https://scottmendelson.substack.com/p/china-pushes-disneyzootopia-past-one-billion-at-worldwide-box-office- Ne Zha 2 topped satisfaction charts at the 7th Hainan Island International Film Festival, alongside WWII epic Dead to Rights, while comedies and romances faded completely.https://www.imdb.com/news/ni65607646/
China’s box office hit $6.7 billion this year so far, up from $5.8 billion in 2024, fueled by these local successes.https://www.imdb.com/news/ni65607646/ Animation and historical war stories lead in viewer approval, as shared by Sun Xianghui of the China Film Art Research Center. This mirrors a bigger shift where Chinese audiences favor their own stories over foreign ones. Even Disney’s Zootopia 2 needed a huge $272 million China debut to hit $1 billion worldwide, but it still trails Ne Zha 2.https://scottmendelson.substack.com/p/china-pushes-disneyzootopia-past-one-billion-at-worldwide-box-office-
Avatar: Fire and Ash brings advanced effects, motion capture, and 4K 3D at 48 frames per second, yet it faces stiff competition from Ne Zha 2 in a potential box office showdown.https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202511/1348975.shtmlhttps://scottmendelson.substack.com/p/china-pushes-disneyzootopia-past-one-billion-at-worldwide-box-office- Hollywood franchises once thrived in China, like the original Avatar’s $202 million in 2010, but today’s market rewards domestic animation giants.https://scottmendelson.substack.com/p/china-pushes-disneyzootopia-past-one-billion-at-worldwide-box-office- Without matching Ne Zha 2’s cultural pull, Fire and Ash struggles to excite crowds amid this local boom.
Sources
https://www.imdb.com/news/ni65607646/
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202511/1348975.shtml
https://scottmendelson.substack.com/p/china-pushes-disneyzootopia-past-one-billion-at-worldwide-box-office-
