A man (L) walks past a promotion for the Chinese animated film Ne Zha 2. (AFP / Pedro PARDO)

Fabricated news report falsely claims US banned China's blockbuster 'Ne Zha 2'

Published on February 26, 2025 at 05:21
3 min read
By Carina CHENG, AFP Hong Kong

The United States has not issued an emergency order banning China's most successful blockbuster animated film "Ne Zha 2" under "national security concerns". Social media posts sharing the claim in fact feature a made-up news report and no such order was found on the Department of Commerce's official website. The film opened in the US on February 14 and has since ranked fifth in the North American box office.

"The US Department of Commerce has banned the Chinese animated film "Ne Zha 2" over 'national security' concerns, saying it could lead to ideological infiltration," reads the simplified Chinese headline in a screenshot of a purported news report shared on X on February 6.

The alleged report is dated February 5 and claims the department's Bureau of Industry Security (BIS) placed the film on its Entity List -- a trade blacklist -- and that the ban was "the first time the US government issued a complete ban on an entertainment product".

The report also claims White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the country needs to beware of the risks of "digital surveillance" and "mental manipulation" in cultural works.

The image's caption repeats the claim in the purported report, which is unattributed to any news organisation.

Screenshot of the false post, taken February 24, 2025

"Ne Zha 2" is based on Chinese mythology and features a rebellious young deity battling formidable foes after his village is destroyed. It ousted Disney's "Inside Out 2" to become the highest-grossing animated film of all time, state news agency Xinhua reported on February 18 (archived link).

The film's overseas release in February sparked hopes among some Chinese that it would garner similar acclaim abroad (archived link). President Xi Jinping has urged more confidence in traditional culture and aims to build China into a cultural powerhouse by 2035.

The same screenshot was shared on X, Weibo and RedNote alongside similar claims the box office hit was banned in the US.

But the circulating news report is fabricated and "Ne Zha 2" earned $8.5 million in the North American box office the weekend after its release on February 14 (archived link).

Tickets for the film are available on several US ticketing platforms like AMC and Showtimes.

Screenshots showing available Ne Zha 2 tickets on US ticketing platforms AMC and Showtimes

Fabricated report

Keyword searches on Baidu using the headline seen in the circulating screenshot found no corresponding credible Chinese news reports.

A keyword search on the US Department of Commerce's website found no press releases about "Ne Zha 2" on February 5 (archived link).

The film is also not listed on the BIS's Entity List, which contains a list of names of foreign legal persons including businesses, institutions and governments that are subject to trade restrictions (archived link).

A keyword search on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), an independent agency that regulates films and licenses for television and radio issues in the US, also shows it did not issue a ban on the film (archived link).

As of February 25, White House Press Secretary Leavitt has not spoken about Ne Zha 2 during any press briefings (archived link).

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