The biggest movie of the year isn’t about superheroes. It isn’t ripped from a video game or a live-action remake of an animated children’s classic. It’s a sequel based on intellectual property that’s familiar to much of the earth’s population, but chances are, you haven’t even heard of Ne Zha II until now.

It’s an animated action fantasy film that was released on Jan. 29 in mainland China and has since made $2.2 billion at the global box office. Written and directed by Jiao Zi, it follows a demon boy with remarkable but uncontrollable powers who faces a series of challenges to save his friends and family.

Why you should know Ne Zha II

Ne Zha II is fascinatingly popular — the biggest animated movie of all time and the first non-Hollywood film to ever gross more than $2 billion. Critics love it too, lauding the “massively scaled, spectacular visuals” and its “mind-blowing” blend of genres as the film’s Rotten Tomatoes score sits above 90%.

The buzz for Ne Zha II has only recently made its way stateside, with trendy independent studio A24 releasing a version dubbed in English, featuring Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh, in theaters Aug. 22. Though it only made $1.5 million at the U.S. box office during its opening weekend, failing to outperform fellow animated demon-centric movie KPop Demon Hunters, the latter had weeks of domestic hype-building in the books ahead of time as it dominated Netflix streaming charts and offered fun sing-along screenings. Both films topped Eden, it-girl Sydney Sweeney’s latest release.

What’s the movie about?

The story itself is a little difficult to follow if you’re not familiar with Chinese legends and religious mythology pulled from Buddhism, Confucianism and Daoism — the film's naysayers have called it “exhausting” and confusing. I’ll walk you through it.

In the prologue, viewers get caught up on what happened in the original 2019 movie. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth formed a Chaos Pearl, which was then divided into two parts — the Spirit Pearl and the Demon Orb. The titular Ne Zha, the son of a warrior, receives the Demon Orb, and the son of an imprisoned king, Ao Bing, receives the Spirit Pearl.

Due to his demon status, Ne Zha becomes an outcast — but befriends the one person who should truly be his enemy, Ao Bing. The first film ends with their spirits being separated from their bodies.

The second film picks up with Ne Zha and Ao Bing attempting to restore their physical forms. They team up with Master Taiyi, the film’s comic relief. Their plan goes awry, forcing Ao Bing to share Ne Zha’s body with him. Together, they head to a palace where Ne Zha must pass a series of tests to become immortal, which would give him access to an elixir that can save his friend. Violent battles, deception and trickery ensue, leading to higher stakes than one might expect from a children’s movie.

Is this a kids’ movie?

That’s the thing: It might be animated, but it’s not necessarily a movie for all ages. The film did not receive an MPA rating in the U.S., and China doesn’t have a formal rating system, so theatergoers will have to make their own calls about what they can handle. During my screening, I was struck by how dazzling the animation was, which in turn elevated the scariness of the abyss monsters and violent battle scenes. I literally gasped when one shot featured charred human remains, doubting what I had seen with my own eyes until a character referenced the incident later.

There’s no denying that it’s a sight to behold, though, if you can handle it — according to A24, it took five years to make, and 4,000 people across 138 animation companies worked on it. With that extent of a workforce involved in its production, it’s no surprise they pulled off such an expectation-defying hit.

Wait, why is it so popular?

The subversive nature of the gritty animated movie might be what’s making it stand out internationally. George Huang, a filmmaker and professor at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, tells Yahoo the good-versus-evil story is sure to resonate with audiences, though the “hero” at its center isn’t your typical protagonist. Ne Zha is a mischievous, trouble-making demon who defies people’s misgivings, saving the world in the process.

Other films might approach this type of story in a saccharine way with a noble hero, but the character of Ne Zha is more like if “Chucky from Child’s Play became a good guy,” Huang says. “[It] gives the audience a great dose of ‘naughty’ fun as well as the themes we all want to believe in.”

Ne Zha II is already a roaring success. It doesn’t need to take off in the U.S. to have made its mark on culture. Huang says that much of film revenue comes from international sources now anyway — even with U.S.-made films. You don’t need to see Ne Zha II, but you should remember its name for when its influence begins creeping into future filmmaking.

Looking for more recs? Find your next watch on the Yahoo 100, our daily updating list of the most popular movies of the year.