21 FEBRUARY 2025
Welcome to this week’s edition of Culture Wire, a newsletter brought to you by Singapore-based pop culture and lifestyle marketing agency Culture Group.
In this week’s edition:
- Headline of the Week: Ne Zha 2 rewrites animation history
- Fax, No Printer: What are young Malaysians waiting in line for?
- Before You Leave: The faceless influencer phenomenon, Shakespeare is cool again, Instagram reels in viewers and more!
Innovation of the Week
🐉 SILK SCREEN ROAD
Move over, Pixar – there’s a new box office champion. Ne Zha 2, the Chinese-made animated sequel directed by Jiao Zi, has dethroned Inside Out 2 as the highest-grossing animated film globally, earning 12.3 B yuan (US$1.69 B) since its January release. The most remarkable part? This record-breaking success comes almost entirely from mainland China alone, where the film has sold over 250 million tickets.
💡 OUR TAKE
Ne Zha 2‘s dominance isn’t just the result of perfect timing (a Lunar New Year release) or sequel advantage (building on its 2019 predecessor’s fan base). The Wrap notes this is the first time Chinese families have had the chance to tune in to a high-quality animated sequel in their local language – something American audiences take for granted. The film’s combination of Chinese folklore and contemporary themes has resonated. Yes, some Western reviewers find the plot ‘elaborate’, but local audiences are returning for their third, fourth, even tenth viewing. In a market where cinema attendance dropped by up to 35% last year and viewers increasingly opt for streaming content, that’s a pretty big flex.
Last year, after the China-produced comedy-drama Successor beat Deadpool & Wolverine at the box office, Dr. Stanley Rosen at USC noted that “China has learnt all they could from Hollywood… Now, they make their own big-budget blockbuster films with good special effects.” Ne Zha 2 is just another example of that. For the longest time, Hollywood represented the future and provided an aspirational lens to what success, growth and modernity could look like in Asian markets. This doesn’t hold anymore.
This shift mirrors a broader cultural evolution. The early 2010s urban culture redefinition, driven by the Millennials, transformed the Asian identity from something to assimilate out of into something to proudly reclaim – revolutionizing everything from coffee shops to streetwear along the way. Now we’re seeing a similar transformation in the media. Today’s audiences, particularly younger viewers, want entertainment that reflects their lived experiences, interests and complexities back to them. Whether it’s China’s booming 60-second drama industry or Black Myth: Wukong, creators are thinking beyond Western formulas, reimagining cultural storytelling for a younger generation.
Ne Zha 2 shows what’s next for entertainment in Asia. There’s no longer a need to choose between cultural authenticity and global production standards. An audience that feels connected to content will show up – repeatedly. And as we’ve said before, Asian media influence is growing. The question is not whether Asian entertainment can match Hollywood, but how Hollywood will react to this new reality. We’ll be watching 👀(and reporting).
Fax, No Printer*
For those of you born before 1997, ‘fax, no printer‘ is Gen Z speak for ‘undeniable facts I agree with’
What are young Malaysians waiting in line for?
Scroll to the end of the newsletter for the correct answer!
Before You Leave
Are faceless influencers here to stay?
(5 min read)
Why TikTok’s loss might be Instagram’s gain?
(3 min read)
This Week's Trivia Answer
A. A new handbag from a local brand 👛
Founded by Sabrina and Syakira Rizal, Brik is best known for its Chroma bag range. To promote the release of a new exclusive range, the brand just hosted a pop-up store in Kuala Lumpur. Videos on social media show hundreds of fans turning up as early as 7am – ahead of a 3pm launch – hoping to ahem bag one.
Most were left frustrated when the stocks eventually wiped out by 6pm and they were asked to go home. While the influencer-exclusive preview went smoothly, the public event sparked both ridicule (from those not in line) and outrage (from those who were).
Waiting in line for a coveted item has become almost as important as owning the elusive item. Eagle-eyed readers might remember this article on the cult of the queue. And more recently, we’ve discussed how local brands have become increasingly desirable in Malaysia – and across SEA – thanks to the ongoing boycott and limited accessibility to more global brands. Yes, consumers have always been willing to wait for the right product (an iPhone, for example), but now that behavior is shifting to home-grown brands that have become a form of accessible social currency.
Brik might not have handled this drop that well, and there are lessons here for what not to do. But the core elements – IRL participation, the thrill of ownership and fan culture – might be something your brand can tap into in the coming months. What would make your consumers get in line?
🚀 Over and Out!
Pop culture insights are better when shared. Subscribe, forward this on, or share the love on social media. Thanks for reading!
Your Culture Mavens,
Angela, Catherine, Teri, Twila, & Vicki
