"Ne Zha 2" box office success ignites merchandise craze

"30 million achieved!" reads an announcement by FunCrazy, a creative toy brand, in its official Xiaohongshu post on February 16. The post, featuring an image of a Ne Zha collectible figure, marks a record-breaking milestone in less than a month: the co-branded crowdfunding campaign for the official movie "Ne Zha 2" merchandise surpasses 30 million yuan.

As the global earnings of "Ne Zha 2", including pre-sales, hit a historic 12.319 billion yuan (about 1.72 billion US dollars), its influence extends beyond the cinema to the shelves of both collectors and fans, marking a new chapter in the booming market for movie-related merchandise.

Another example of Ne Zha’s IP value is evident in the collectible blind box series co-produced by Pop Mart and creators of the movie. Sales of the blind box series surpassed 10 million yuan within just eight days of the launch, while the first batch of products quickly sold out.

In response to huge market demand, the brand has initiated pre-sales for subsequent batches of the blind box series, with shipping dates pushed back to late June. Pop Mart's physical stores nationwide have largely sold out of them as well.

However, for some eager fans, waiting for the pre-sale is simply not an option. On Goofish, a second-hand trading platform, the price of some in-stock blind boxes has already increased by more than three times.

"I bought the full series of eight blind boxes as a birthday gift for myself. They're so cute, and they even recreated the scene where Ne Zha and Ao Bing join forces to fight the villain," shared by a movie fan on her Xiaohongshu post.

The iconic scene from the movie added extra popularity to the merchandise. Many fans recreated the moment when the two protagonists, Ne Zha and Ao Bing, hold hands to battle the thunder in collectible figures and shared them on social media, boosting its viral spread.

The massive success of Ne Zha's merchandise sales highlights the growing economic impact of IPs. Beyond box office earnings, purchasing merchandise offers fans a tangible connection to the characters and stories, amplifying the value of an IP in today’s entertainment industry.

Consumer demand for spiritual and cultural values is rising, with a shift from functional attributes to emotional and spiritual significance. Consequently, diverse IP derivatives have become key catalysts for driving market enthusiasm, said Jiang Duo, associate professor of the Communication University of China.

"Ne Zha 2" is not the first cultural product to benefit from the spillover effect of the IP economy. In 2023, the Chinese sci-fi blockbuster "The Wandering Earth II" raked in a whopping box office revenue. A movie-related crowdfunding project was launched for merchandise.

The project garnered over 433,000 orders and raised more than 100 million yuan, far exceeding the original goal of 100,000 yuan.

Movie IPs are transitioning from being solely driven by box office revenue to exploring multiple sources of value, injecting more vitality into the cultural market. More and more Chinese companies are focusing on IP development and the cultural and creative industry. Their products are becoming much more sophisticated, and the expansion of offline channels plays a crucial role in supporting the development of the IP economy, said Jiang.