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In a historic first, a film produced outside the United States has claimed the top spot at the global box office for the first half of 2025.
The Chinese animated feature Ne Zha 2 not only shattered multiple records in its home country but also became the highest-grossing animated film of all time, earning approximately $1.99 billion globally by July 1.
The unprecedented success of Ne Zha 2 made it the only film so far this year to surpass the $1 billion threshold.
While U.S. productions have traditionally dominated the international box office, this year’s data shows a notable shift, with Chinese cinema achieving significant traction on the global stage.
Despite continued challenges across several national markets, global box office revenues in the first half of 2025 showed a slight improvement over the same period in 2024. Although worldwide figures still lag 20% to 25% behind pre-pandemic levels, industry observers note that the current period is the most stable in the past five years.
In Türkiye, cinema attendance remained especially low, marking one of the weakest first-half performances of the 21st century. However, industry analysts remain hopeful for a stronger second half of the year.
Highly anticipated titles such as Superman and The Fantastic Four: First Steps are expected to attract large audiences this summer. The upcoming release of Avatar: Fire and Ash later in the year may also help to further narrow the gap with pre-2020 box office performance.
Though Ne Zha 2 claimed the top position, Hollywood films still filled most of the remaining slots in the global top 15. In second place, A Minecraft Movie earned just under $1 billion, followed closely by Disney’s live-action remake of Lilo & Stitch.
Other top performers included Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning in fourth place, followed by How to Train Your Dragon, Captain America: Brave New World, and Marvel’s Thunderbolts.
Meanwhile, horror, animation, and franchise sequels such as Final Destination: Bloodlines, Snow White, and Dog Man also made strong showings.
Here is the full list of the top 15 highest-grossing films worldwide in the first half of 2025, based on data through July 1.
Several of these films, particularly those marked with ongoing theatrical runs, are expected to climb higher in the rankings in the coming months.
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