Disney’s animated sequel Zootopia 2 entered Saturday at nearly $235 million at the global box office, and looks to leap past $500 million for a big 2025 Thanksgiving weekend.
Jason Bateman and Ginnifer Goodwin star in “Zootopia 2.”
Source: Disney
Zootopia 2 – By The Numbers
Predictions for Zootopia 2 have steadily risen through the week, with pre-Thanksgiving signs it would top $350 million and then an excellent Friday that pointed to a $400-450 million finish. Now, as figures continue to come in, the Disney sequel is heading for a breathtaking $500-520 million first extended weekend around the world.
Zootopia 2 is playing huge in China and topping all expectations. It will easily top $100 million in the Middle Kingdom this weekend and set records there as well. China is a significant portion of ticket sales over a long international rollout, with more markets added daily and more to come, so expect estimates to rise.
This sort of opening for Zootopia 2 as a franchise tentpole sequel over a long Thanksgiving weekend, with the entire Christmas holiday season and New Year still ahead, means kids will remain out of school and family audiences will keep turning out in droves.
That positions, Zootopia 2 two for a run at the top of the 2025 year-end box office charts. There is a little doubt that Avatar: Fire and Ash will wind up blowing all other challengers out of the water when it inevitably tops $2 billion dollars after debuting this Christmas season, but second and third place are definitely still up for grabs for any big blockbuster performer before year’s end.
Wicked: For Good was bound to take a hit this weekend after its own record-setting opening, with Zootopia 2 opening and after what would normally be a fan front-loaded debut weekend that set records for Broadway musical adaptations. Wicked held twice as strong on its own Thanksgiving second weekend of release last year against Moana 2, so we’re definitely seeing the sequel come in lower than the first.
That said, Wicked: For Good is still topping $410-420 million this weekend and will be among the year’s biggest films, again. It should also enjoy longer legs across the holiday season into Christmas, as one of the few holdovers capable of still delivering some of the coveted kids/families audience crucial to top-10 blockbuster status in the modern era. And the sheer quality of the film and continued interest around the production and cast will help it maintain positive word of mouth for weeks to come.
Zootopia 2’s fabulous opening weekend numbers suggest it will have little trouble reaching $1 billion globally, as a simple 2x final multiplier gets it past that box office milestone. A modest 2.5 means $1.3 billion, and a strong 3x would see Zootopia 2 clearing $1.57 billion.
The Chinese cinema release Ne Zha 2 currently claims to have about $1.9 billion, but without getting into it deeper, the nature of ticket processing and other factors leads me to usually exclude mention of this particular film and avoid dancing around concerns and disagreements about precise numbers.
In this context, however, note that even with international releases that climb the box office charts akin to a Hollywood tentpole blockbuster, the same dynamics still apply – child and family audiences rule the roost.
The next closest challenger for chart-topping status is Lilo & Stitch at $1 billion worldwide, followed by A Minecraft Movie, which took $958 million. Which is to say, Zootopia 2 looks like a shoo-in for second place behind Ne Zha 2 and ahead of Lilo & Stitch. With Avatar: Fire and Ash presumed to eventually take the top spot with at least $2 billion (never, ever bet against James Cameron, in case you’re new to this game), then, it appears the showdown for second-place will be a battle between Ne Zha 2 and Zootopia 2.
Zootopia 2, even if it comes up shy of Ne Zha 2’s $1.9 billion, still looks like it can already lay probable claim to the #3 spot on the 2025 box office charts, and with only a little luck will finish somewhere around $1.5 billion, give or take a hundred or so million bucks. But it’s still only Saturday, and so much has changed already that we could still see Zootopia 2’s fate change yet again. So, watch this space for updates and a final box office roundup next week.