“Zootopia 2” is racing past $1 billion globally after 17 days of release, becoming the fastest PG film to ever cross the coveted box office milestone. With $232.7 million domestically and a staggering $753.4 million internationally, Disney‘s animated sequel has earned $986.1 million to date and will hit the billion-dollar benchmark on Friday.
“Zootopia 2” is only the third movie this year to join the $1 billion club after Disney’s “Lilo & Stitch” ($1.03 billion), and China’s animated blockbuster “Ne Zha 2” (the highest grossing release of 2025 with $1.9 billion). Only 13 animated films (10 of which are Disney titles) have ever surpassed $1 billion.
“Everyone at Disney Animation put their heart, soul and passion into this film to tell a story full of joy, imagination, and incredible thoughtfulness,” said Jared Bush, chief creative officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios. “This milestone means the world to us, because more than anything, it means audiences are coming to theaters for a shared experience of watching this movie on the big screen, everyone together, from all walks of life around the world — and that is a Zootopia dream come true.”
Nine years after the original “Zootopia” became a billion-dollar smash, the sequel hit theaters ahead of Thanksgiving and unleashed a box office stampede. “Zootopia 2” opened to $158 million in North America and $559 million globally over the five-day holiday weekend. Those returns marked the second largest Thanksgiving launch, the best start ever for an animated film, as well as the fourth-biggest worldwide debut in box office history (following “Avengers: Endgame,” “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Spider-Man: No Way Home”).
“Zootopia 2” has been the rare Hollywood film in recent times to score at the Chinese box office, where it has earned $430 million to date. The movie stands as the second-biggest non-local release in history in the country, behind Disney’s Marvel epic “Avengers: Endgame” with $632 million. The first “Zootopia” was beloved in China but the property has exploded in popularity ever since a Zootopia Land opened at the Shanghai Disneyland theme park.
Directed by Jared Bush and Byron Howard, “Zootopia 2” takes place in a metropolis inhibited by animals and 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). The buddy-cop comedy has benefitted at the box office from several factors, including great reviews and stellar word-of-mouth, as well as pent-up demand for family friendly entertainment. To wit: There hadn’t been a kid-centric film since “The Bad Guys 2” in August. After Pixar’s “Elio” flopped over the summer, “Zootopia 2” has been the biggest animated film since Disney’s “Moana 2,” which opened ahead of Thanksgiving 2024 and swam to $1.059 billion worldwide.
From Variety US
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