'Zootopia 2' breaks global box office record with $556M opening weekend

The sequel to Disney's animated hit, Zootopia 2, opened with an impressive $96 million in North America over the weekend. Over the five-day Thanksgiving period, the film amassed $156 million domestically and raked in an astounding $556 million worldwide since its Wednesday debut, according to studio projections released Sunday. This makes it the largest international launch ever for an animated feature, the fourth biggest global debut of any film, and the top international opener of 2025.

Meanwhile, Wicked: For Good maintained strong momentum in its second weekend for Universal Pictures, bringing in $62.8 million domestically and reaching a North American total of $270.4 million. The film's international earnings added $393 million, bolstering the combined performance of these two PG-rated sequels and making Thanksgiving weekend a rare bright spot for theaters this year. The five-day holiday haul totaled $290 million, including $188 million from Friday through Sunday, hinting at a possible boost to Hollywood's box office finish as films like Avatar: Fire and Ash and Five Nights at Freddy's 2 are still set for release in 2025.

Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, commented, This is a fantastic outcome and sets strong momentum for the final month of the year. Zootopia 2 arrives nearly ten years after the original film, which opened domestically in March with $75 million. Returning are the beloved characters Judy Hopps (voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin) and Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman), navigating a city populated by whimsically anthropomorphic animals. Dergarabedian described the sequel as a cherished franchise delivering exactly what audiences worldwide were hoping for.

The film achieved the fourth largest North American opening of 2025, but its strongest performance came from China, accounting for nearly half of its global revenue with an extraordinary $272 million in ticket sales. No American animated feature has ever launched bigger there. It became the second highest non-local opening in Chinese history, trailing only Avengers: Endgame. Historically, Chinese audiences were a reliable market for Hollywood, but recent geopolitical tensions have made results unpredictable, with exceptions like the Jurassic World series. Zootopia 2s Chinese success may indicate a potential easing of that uncertainty.

Chinas film market, which restricts foreign releases, has recently favored domestic productions. Earlier in 2025, the local blockbuster Ne Zha 2 grossed $1.8 billion. However, Zootopia 2 benefited from the popularity of the first film, known in China as Crazy Animal City, which earned $236 million and inspired a themed area at Shanghai Disneyland.

Despite the formidable competition, Wicked: For Good performed well globally, achieving a weekend total of $92.2 million. Another standout, Hamnet, targeting awards season, opened strongly in a limited release, earning $1.35 million from 119 theaters between Wednesday and Sunday, with a weekend total of $880,000 and an impressive per-theater average exceeding $11,000. Directed by Chloe Zhao and starring Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal, Hamnet is set for a wider expansion next weekend.

According to Comscore estimates for Friday through Sunday in U.S. and Canadian theaters, other notable releases included Now You See Me: Now You Dont at $7 million.

Author: Sophia Brooks