Chinese animated film The Eight Immortals surpasses 2 billion at the box office

The Eight Immortals has just broken the 2 billion yuan barrier at the box office. With this figure, the Chengdu production becomes the third highest-grossing Chinese animated film of all time.

Only Ne Zha: Birth of the Demon Child and its sequel, Ne Zha 2, remain ahead. Both were born in the same creative ecosystem: the Tianfu Changdao digital industrial park, where The Eight Immortals was also developed.

The film tells the story of eight ordinary people who come together on the fly to cross the sea. A premise that, according to director Mou Zhengyang, captures the spirit of the film: "He is a mortal, becomes an immortal, and represents mortals."

Illustration from The Eight Immortals featuring several characters celebrating together.m.21jingji.com

Chengdu's animation cluster

The success of The Eight Immortals is not an isolated case. The Tianfu Changdao park already brings together 70 companies related to digital content. Studios such as Qianniao Animation, Mojing Tianhe, Wanguang Culture, and A'er Pingfang coexist there, collaborating with each other across dozens of production processes.

Heavyweights also operate in the same city, such as Tencent Chengdu, responsible for Honor of Kings, which surpassed 139 million daily active users in 2025. Also the Jinshan Shiyou studio, which launched the mobile game Goose Goose Duck with more than 40 million registrations in six months.

The local industry does not only produce for China. The Eight Immortals has already been released in Australia, New Zealand, North America, and the United Kingdom. In its opening weekend in American theaters it grossed $302,000 across roughly 200 screens, the third-best opening of the year for a Chinese film.

An expanding industry

In 2025, Chengdu's digital content sector reported revenue of 413.97 billion yuan, up 8.3% from the previous year. Nearly 900 companies exceed the minimum size to be included in official statistics.

Sichuan Province allocates 300 million yuan annually to support audiovisual projects and quality awards. It also streamlined approval procedures so that production companies no longer have to chase permits.

The region's next major release is Zhao Zilong, an animated film that began production in January and is targeting summer 2027. Before that, The Eight Immortals will continue its international run under the title All Wishes Come True.