(Yicai) Feb. 27 -- Sales of Ne Zha 2 movie merchandise have exceeded CNY300 million (USD41 million) on Alibaba’s Taobao, ending The Wandering Earth II's two-year stint as the highest-grossing Chinese film and television franchise on the major online marketplace.

More than two million people have bought Ne Zha 2 merchandise on Taobao, staff in the site's public relations department told Yicai. Sales of trendy action items, including mystery boxes, figurines, and trading cards, have topped CNY200 million, they noted.

Ne Zha 2 had raked in more than CNY13.7 billion (USD1.9 billion) at the global box office as of yesterday, making the animated fantasy adventure the eighth highest-grossing movie of all time.

Chinese toy maker Pop Mart, trading card company Kayou, and Citic Press Group all have intellectual property tie-ups with Ne Zha 2. Over 100,000 of Pop Mart’s series of Natural Bond mystery boxes have sold through its flagship store on Tmall, Alibaba’s online business-to-consumer shopping site, with the items scheduled for shipping before June 30.

The creation of Ne Zha 2 products took about 18 months, a Pop Mart official said. Due to the lengthy development process for collectible figurines, the firm began talking with the company's production team early on to ensure that merchandise releases coincided with the movie’s debut, they added.

Beijing-based Pop Mart has collaborated with other animation films and aims to partner with more outstanding Chinese movies in the future, the person noted.

China's film and TV industry has developed rapidly, with more and more productions mapping out advanced IP development strategies. Capturing this market segment has also emerged as a new growth opportunity in the toy sector.

Editor: Martin Kadiev