Brisbane: The Hoyts Sunnybank cinema in Brisbane, Australia's third largest city, presented 14 sessions of the Chinese animated film "Ne Zha 2" on Sunday, significantly more than other popular films including "Captain America: Brave New World" which was shown in eight sessions.
According to Namibia Press Agency, while Sunnybank has a concentrated Chinese diaspora population, another Brisbane cinema Event Garden City Mt Gravatt showed "Ne Zha 2" in 11 sessions, the same as "Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy." About two weeks after the release and pre-screening of the Chinese animation blockbuster, mainstream Australian cinemas have greatly increased their screening schedules of "Ne Zha 2" across the country due to strong demand from local audiences, with a majority of the seats taken in most sessions.
"Ne Zha 2" entered the top three at Australia's weekend box office in its debut last week in 91 cinemas, following "Captain America" and "Bridget Jones" last weekend, according to box office reporting company Numero on Monday.
Peter Koevari, director of GP2 Entertainment, a Brisbane-based independent film production company, attended the opening screening of "Ne Zha 2" and was shocked by how little promotion this film received, although "the cinema was absolutely packed out and the film was excellent." He noted the lack of marketing despite the film's success, emphasizing the limited promotion in Western markets and the missed potential if it were marketed properly.
"Ne Zha 2: The Sea's Fury," the sequel to the 2019 Chinese blockbuster "Nezha: Birth of the Demon Child," is more than a high-octane, action-packed and visually stunning animated spectacle. Hong Yanyan, a PhD candidate in communication and media studies at the University of Adelaide, explained that the film is a bold re-imagining of Chinese traditional mythology, cultural history, and philosophies, carrying Eastern cultural essence through its narrative.
Maryam, a viewer from Adelaide, remarked on the film's exploration of human nature, while Hong highlighted the emotional climax that embodies Confucian virtues. The film also weaves in Legalist reform and Mohist resistance, as well as elements of Sun Tzu's Art of War.
Associate Professor Gong Qian at the School of Education of Curtin University told Xinhua that despite the expansion of the Chinese community in Australia, young people's enthusiasm for Chinese culture still lags compared to Japanese and Korean culture. However, Ne Zha's appeal suggests there is potential for more Chinese cultural narratives to gain popularity abroad.