As audiences flocked to theaters over Thanksgiving weekend, “Zootopia 2″ kicked off the holiday season with a box office feast.
The sequel raked in $96.8 million in its domestic opening, according to Box Office Mojo, and has already earned $156 million over a five-day release.
In a recent press release, Disney noted the movie marks the fourth-highest global opening of all time, the biggest opening worldwide this year so far, and the largest global opening ever for an animated film.
Disney Entertainment co-chairman Alan Bergman said of the film’s success, “The incredible response to ‘Zootopia 2’ reflects both its worldwide appeal and the remarkable work of our filmmakers and cast.” He continued, “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.”
So what is fueling the animated film’s triumph? For starters, the critics are loving it — it has a 91% score on Rotten Tomatoes — and audiences are giving it top marks as well, with an “A” CinemaScore. Word-of-mouth buzz is also adding to the film’s intrigue. The sequel also taps into a starving market of family-friendly films. The last big animated release, “Bad Guys 2,” hit theaters back in August.
The U.S. box office is just the beginning. “Zootopia 2″ is tearing it up internationally, particularly in China, where it earned $34 million over the weekend. Worldwide, the film has already grossed $556 million.
“China has been trouble for American films during the last five years — very little has worked there — but the opening is breaking records," says analyst David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research. “The film is on track to gross more money in China than in the U.S.”
For context, the first “Zootopia” debuted with $75 million domestically and went on to earn more than $1 billion worldwide back in 2016.
According to Variety, the buddy-cop sequel’s Thanksgiving numbers rank 2025 as the second-best Thanksgiving launch of all time, just behind 2024’s “Moana 2,” another Disney sequel that earned $225 million over the five days. “Zootopia 2″ surpassed 2019’s “Frozen II,” which grossed $125 million over the five days.
Over Thanksgiving weekend, Universal Pictures’ “Wicked: For Good” sat in second place for its second weekend in theaters, grossing $62.8 million, totaling $393 million worldwide, per Box Office mojo.
“Zootopia 2″ is scheduled to continue its run in theaters over the holiday season, with international markets expected to contribute further to its box office total. Disney says it is now set up for a “powerful one-two punch to close out the year” as “Avatar: Fire and Ash” is scheduled to hit theaters Dec. 19.