Surprising many, Nobody becomes China’s top 2D animated film at the box office

There’s a new king atop China’s 2D animated box office, and it’s Nobody.

Shanghai Animation Film Studio’s movie has overtaken Makoto Shinkai’s Suzume as the highest-grossing 2D animated film in Chinese box office history while becoming a dark horse in the nation’s summer movie season.

With its success, Nobody has dethroned the dominance of Japanese animated films in China.

Before Nobody’s debut on August 2, the all-time top three such movies at the Chinese box office were Suzume, having generated 807 million yuan (US$112.2 million), followed by The Boy and the Heron’s 791 million yuan, and Your Name’s 713 million yuan – all produced in Japan.

Based on the 2023 online animated series Chinese Bizarreries, Nobody had earned just over 1 billion yuan as of Monday. It continues a unique animation style pioneered by the Chinese studio, incorporating extensive elements of ink-wash painting to create a Chinese aesthetic.

The film’s supervisor, Chen Liaoyu, said in July that Nobody features “ink entering the frame”, meaning the use of ink to construct the shots rather than using shots to depict ink, as reported by the Shanghai Observer newspaper.

“For example, the two tusks of the little pig demon retain the hand-drawn arc lines, and these details are the most challenging aspects,” Chen was quoted as saying.

South China Morning Post