“Zootopia 2” stuffed the box office competition over Thanksgiving.
Disney‘s animated sequel, a buddy-cop comedy about anthropomorphic animals, debuted to $156 million in North America and $400 million overseas, delivering a stunning $556 million global tally. The family film, which opened on Wednesday, cemented several records including the fourth-biggest worldwide debut in box office history (following “Avengers: Endgame,” “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Spider-Man: No Way Home”), as well as the largest global launch of all time for an animated film.
“The incredible response to ‘Zootopia 2’ reflects both its worldwide appeal and the remarkable work of our filmmakers and cast,” says Disney Entertainment co-chairman Alan Bergman. “It’s a proud moment for Disney Animation and all of us at Disney, not to mention a great way to start the holiday season.”
“Zootopia 2” is turbocharging the box office, which has been majorly struggling since the summer. This was the second consecutive weekend that movie theaters were booked and busy after “Wicked: For Good” arrived ahead of Thanksgiving with $147 million. The initial turnout for “Zootopia 2” is also a needed win for Disney, which has fielded a string of theatrical misses including Marvel’s “The Fantastic Four: First Steps,” Pixar’s “Elio,” “Tron: Ares” and “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere.” After a rocky stretch, the studio will dominate through the rest of the year with “Zootopia 2” and December’s “Avatar: Fire and Ash.”
Directed by Jared Bush and Byron Howard, the PG-rated “Zootopia 2” follows a rabbit police officer (Ginnifer Goodwin) and con artist fox (Jason Bateman) as they reunite to pursue a mysterious new reptilian resident (Ke Huy Quan) in the city. The original “Zootopia” opened in March 2016 with $75 million in North America and became a massive hit with $341 million domestically and $1.02 billion worldwide. With stellar reviews and excellent word-of-mouth, “Zootopia 2” is poised to deliver a similar result — and should easily become the second movie of the year to surpass the $1 billion mark after Disney’s “Lilo & Stitch” in May.
“‘Zootopia 2’ has a perfect release date, built-in brand recognition and a PG rating,” says Comscore’s head of marketplace trends Paul Dergarabedian.
Here are all the records from opening weekend:
Global
- Highest animated global opening of all time (based on current rates)
- Fourth-biggest global opening of all time after “Avengers: Endgame” ($1.2 billion), “Avengers: Infinity War” ($630 million) and “Spider-Man: No Way Home” ($587 million)
- Biggest global debut of 2025
- Highest global opening for an animated sequel ever
- Largest global opening ever for Walt Disney Animation Studios
- Highest global opening for any animated film in Disney’s 102-year history
- Biggest opening weekend increase from original to sequel for any animated franchise (239%)
Domestic
- Second-biggest Thanksgiving Day after “Moana 2” ($28 million)
- Second-highest Thanksgiving opening ever (three-day and five-day) behind “Moana 2” ($139 million over the three days and $225 million over the five days)
- Second-largest Black Friday ever with $38.9 million behind “Moana 2” ($54.3 million)
- Second-highest domestic Wednesday before Thanksgiving of all time with $39.3 million after “Moana 2” ($57.5 million)
- Second-biggest preview gross for Walt Disney Animation sequel with $10.2 million, behind “Moana 2” ($13.8 million) and ahead of “Frozen II” ($8.5 million)
China
- Sixth highest debut of all time, including local and Hollywood titles
- Second best non-local film opening of all time behind “Avengers: Endgame” ($632 million)
- Highest animated opening ever for a non-local title
- Top-grossing non-local film since 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame”
- Highest non-local animated film of all-time after five days of release
- Fourth-highest grossing animated film
- Already surpassed the total cume of Zootopia ($236 million) in five days
- Highest single day gross of all-time for an MPA film with $104 million on Saturday, surpassing “Avengers: Endgame” ($79 million)
- Best opening for a Hollywood release in 2025
International
- Fourth highest international opening of all time
- Biggest Walt Disney Animation international opening of all time (based current rates in the same suite of markets)
- Highest international animated opening of all time (based current rates in the same suite of markets)
- Largest Hollywood international opening of 2025
variety.com
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