Sichuan-Produced Animated Hit Ne Zha: The Devil’s Sea Makes History, Wins Best Feature Film at the 38th Hundred Flowers Awards

On the evening of August 10, the award ceremony of the 38th Hundred Flowers Awards concluded at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing. Ne Zha: The Devil’s Sea (widely known as Ne Zha 2), an original animated feature fully produced in Sichuan, claimed the top honor of Best Feature Film. Co-produced by Cheng Cococartoon Animation and directed by Sichuan-born director Jiaozi, the film wrote a new chapter in the 64-year history of the Hundred Flowers Awards — it marks the first animated film ever to win the highest award, beating all live-action competitors and cementing Chinese animation’s equal standing within mainstream national film recognition systems.

1. Project Profile: A Landmark IP Fully Cultivated in Sichuan

Ne Zha: The Devil’s Sea is a flagship cultural project rooted in Chengdu High-tech Zone, with all core development, filing and production headquartered in Sichuan Province:

• Local creative & production team: Cheng Cococartoon Animation, the primary producer, is registered in the Tianfu Digital Cultural Industrial Park of Chengdu High-tech Zone. Director Jiaozi is a native Sichuan creator, with dozens of local studios undertaking VFX, art design and voice recording work, supported by Chengdu’s mature digital creative industrial infrastructure.
• Bashu cultural core: The movie integrates iconic Sichuan cultural heritage into its mythological narrative, including Taiyi Zhenren speaking authentic Sichuan dialect, guardian beasts modeled on Sanxingdui bronze relics, and visual motifs inspired by Jinsha Site jade artifacts, delivering a unique oriental aesthetic deeply tied to local history.
• Storyline: Picking up right after the catastrophe in the first film, the plot follows Ne Zha and Ao Bing, whose souls are fading away. Master Taiyi attempts to reconstruct their physical forms using the Seven-Colored Lotus, yet they face waves of obstacles and dark forces. The story explores redemption, friendship and fate, striking a chord with audiences of all ages worldwide.

2. Global Box Office Achievements: Record-Breaking Commercial Success

Released during the 2025 Chinese New Year holiday, the animated sequel set unprecedented milestones across domestic and global markets:

• Domestic box office reached 15.446 trillion RMB, ranking No.1 on China’s all-time box office chart, with over 324 million total admissions.
• Worldwide gross hit USD 2.267 billion, surpassing Titanicto claim 4th place on the global all-time box office ranking. It is the only Asian and non-Hollywood title within the global top ten.
• Prior to the Hundred Flowers Award victory, the film had collected multiple national honors: Golden Rooster Award for Best Animation, Golden Panda Award for Best Animated Feature, and Huabiao Special Contribution Film Award, completing a grand slam of China’s top national film accolades.

3. Historic Industry Significance: Breaking Stereotypes of Animation as a “Secondary Genre”

The Hundred Flowers Awards is China’s sole national film award decided entirely by public audience votes. This year, 101 on-site public judges cast anonymous live ballots, and Ne Zha: The Devil’s Sea outcompeted five renowned live-action nominees including The Little Me and Silent Awakening. The milestone carries two far-reaching implications:

1. Reform of mainstream film evaluation standards: Previously, animation works were segregated into separate animation categories and excluded from competing for Best Feature Film. This year’s open competition and victory eliminate the outdated bias that animations are only made for children, proving animated films possess equivalent narrative depth and artistic value to live-action productions.
2. A replicable model for regional cultural industries: The film’s full-cycle development within Sichuan demonstrates the effectiveness of local cultural support policies, offering a benchmark template for animation industrial development nationwide. Producer Wang Changtian stated in his acceptance speech: “This honor belongs to all Chinese animation creators. We hope Ne Zha is just the start, and Chinese animation can bloom in full diversity.”

4. Sichuan Provincial Incentive Policy: Eligible for RMB 3 Million Literary Award

According to the Sichuan Major Cultural Project Support & Premium Works Reward Measures, effective February 2024, films winning Hundred Flowers Best Feature qualify for a one-time reward of 3 million RMB. As the filing and production entity are both registered Sichuan local enterprises, Cococartoon Animation meets all application criteria. The fund will be disbursed after formal application, official review and public notification procedures.

Sichuan has long invested heavily in the full industrial chain of animation, games and online audio-visual content. Chengdu High-tech Zone operates a national digital cultural base, building a closed-loop ecosystem covering IP incubation, animation production, global distribution and derivative merchandise. Authorities will continue supporting original IPs with international influence after the success of the Ne Zha franchise, with more local animated and live-action titles slated for release in the coming years.

5. Outstanding Performance of Sichuan Films at the 38th Hundred Flowers Awards

Sichuan’s film sector delivered an impressive showing with 11 total nominations this session:

• The Little Me, fully shot on location in Chengdu featuring landmarks like Jinsha Site and Yulin Road, earned Jackson Yee the Best Actor trophy, making him the youngest winner of both Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Best Actor.
• Lychees in Chang’an, co-produced by Sichuan film enterprises, won Best Director for Dapeng.
• A diverse lineup of local animated, realistic and costume films competed side by side, showcasing the full maturity of Sichuan’s film production capacity.

6. Industry Outlook

Ne Zha: The Devil’s Sea’s landmark win at the Hundred Flowers Awards is a joint achievement of advanced Chinese animation technology, cultural confidence, and targeted regional industrial support. Moving forward, Sichuan will expand investment in digital cultural industries, gather animation talent, technology and capital resources, and foster more original animated works rooted in local culture with global market appeal, helping Chinese animation further expand its global reach and recognition within elite artistic film circles.

Complete Winner List of the 38th Hundred Flowers Awards

1. Best Feature Film: Ne Zha: The Devil’s Sea
2. Outstanding Feature Film: Silent Awakening
3. Best Director: Dapeng (Lychees in Chang’an)
4. Best Screenplay: Xu Luyang, Zhang Ke, Shen Ao (The Nanjing Photo Studio)
5. Best Actor: Jackson Yee (The Little Me)
6. Best Actress: Chrissie Chau (Break Hell)
7. Best Supporting Actor: Wang Xiao (The Nanjing Photo Studio)
8. Best Supporting Actress: Sa Rina (Catch Dolls)
9. Best Newcomer: Chen Lijun (Bladesman: Wind of the Desert)