Ne Zha 2 vs. the Battle at Lake Changjin? Top 10 Highest-Grossing Non-English Films of All Time (2026)

Written, directed by, and starring Jia Ling in her feature directorial debut, the 2021 comedy-drama Hi, Mom grossed $841,674,419 worldwide (CN¥5.41 billion) on a $59 million budget. Released on February 12, 2021 for Chinese New Year, the 128-minute film adapts Jia Ling's 2016 stage tribute to her late mother, following a grieving daughter transported back to 1981.

Opening to $195 million behind Detective Chinatown 3, Hi, Mom overtook its holiday rival through strong audience ratings (9.5 on Maoyan and 8.2 on Douban) and sold roughly 121 million tickets. It won Best Actress for Zhang Xiaofei at the 34th Golden Rooster Awards and held the record as the highest-grossing film by a solo female director worldwide until Barbie surpassed it in 2023.

Released in Japan on July 18, 2025 by Aniplex and Toho, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle grossed $800,413,549 worldwide on a $20 million budget, becoming the highest-grossing Japanese film of all time. Directed by Haruo Sotozaki and animated by Ufotable, the 155-minute dark fantasy opens a theatrical trilogy adapting the manga's final arc.

Unlike China-centric entries on this list, Infinity Castle achieved broad global reach: it earned ¥40.24 billion in Japan, opened to $70 million in the US (setting an international film record there), and added $96 million in China. It holds a 98% Rotten Tomatoes critic score and won Best Animation Film at the 49th Japan Academy Film Prize as well as Film of the Year at the 10th Crunchyroll Anime Awards.

Before its 2025 sequel topped $2.2 billion, Jiaozi's 2019 debut feature Ne Zha grossed $742,718,496 worldwide (CN¥5.035 billion) on a $22 million budget. Released on July 26, 2019 after IMAX previews, the 110-minute animated adventure reimagines the mythological hero as a misunderstood boy born of a Demon Orb who chooses his own fate.

Involving over 1,600 animators across more than 20 Chinese visual-effects studios, Ne Zha sold roughly 140 million tickets in China and opened to $91.5 million. It overtook Spirited Away as the highest-grossing non-English animated film at the time and became China's first animated submission for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, earning an 88% Rotten Tomatoes score and an 8.4 rating on Douban from Chinese audiences.

Directed by Frant Gwo and loosely adapted from Liu Cixin's novella, The Wandering Earth grossed $699,992,512 worldwide (CN¥4.688 billion) on a $50 million budget after opening on February 5, 2019. Starring Wu Jing and Qu Chuxiao, the 125-minute sci-fi epic depicts humanity building 10,000 planetary engines to propel Earth out of the Solar System away from an expanding Sun.

The film opened to $298.11 million in China during the Lunar New Year holiday and sold over 105 million tickets domestically, earning $5.88 million in North America before Netflix acquired its international streaming rights. It won Best Picture at the Golden Rooster Awards and spawned a 2023 prequel, The Wandering Earth 2, with a third installment scheduled for Chinese New Year in February 2027.

Written and directed by Chen Sicheng, the 2021 buddy-comedy mystery Detective Chinatown 3 grossed $686,257,563 worldwide (CN¥4.522 billion) against a $117 million budget. Starring Wang Baoqiang and Liu Haoran alongside Satoshi Tsumabuki and Tony Jaa, the 136-minute sequel sends detectives Tang Ren and Qin Feng to Tokyo to solve a high-stakes murder.

Delayed a full year from 2020 due to COVID-19, it exploded upon release on February 12, 2021 with $163 million on opening day and $398 million over its opening weekend—surpassing Avengers: Endgame's single-market opening record at the time. Although front-loaded reception (5.6 on Douban) allowed Hi, Mom to overtake it later in the holiday, it remains a top-10 all-time earner and was followed by the 2025 prequel Detective Chinatown 1900 starring the returning duo.

Directed by Zhang Yimou and co-written with Chen Yu, the 2023 Song Dynasty suspense comedy Full River Red grossed $673,552,250 worldwide (CN¥4.546 billion) on an estimated $72.7 million budget. Released on January 22, 2023 for Chinese New Year, the 159-minute period mystery stars Shen Teng and Jackson Yee as figures entangled in a deadly political conspiracy following the death of a Jin envoy.

Shot in Taiyuan, Shanxi during mid-2022, the film opened to $181 million in 3 days and topped $465 million within 8 days, selling over 91.8 million tickets in China. It earned a 95% Rotten Tomatoes score and stands as the highest-grossing film of Zhang Yimou's career, earning a 75 Metacritic score and a Best Asian Chinese Film nomination at the 42nd Hong Kong Film Awards.

Written and directed by Han Han, the 2026 sports comedy Pegasus 3 grossed $656,459,523 worldwide (CN¥4.431 billion) after premiering on February 17, 2026 for Chinese New Year. Starring Shen Teng, Yin Zheng, and Huang Jingyu—with guest appearances by Formula 1 driver Zhou Guanyu and rally champion Sébastien Loeb—the 125-minute sequel follows veteran driver Zhang Chi assembling a national team for the Muchen 100 Rally.

Filmed at high elevations above 4,500 meters in Sichuan and Qinghai as well as Shanghai and Qingdao, Pegasus 3 opened to $379.07 million across its Lunar New Year debut and sold 94.76 million tickets in China. It ranks as the highest-grossing pure sports film of all time and pushed 2022's The Battle at Lake Changjin II out of the global top 10.