Disney Is Thankful for ‘Zootopia 2’ as Record-Breaking Weekend Saves Studio’s 2025 Box Office Returns

So far, 2025 has been a down year for The Walt Disney Company at the box office. Unlike last year, which saw three billion-dollar hits and the massive success of Mufasa: The Lion King (2024), Disney has only one billion-dollar hit with the live-action Lilo & Stitch (2025).

But perhaps that was part of the plan. Disney had to get through some stinkers that struggled with their storylines and required reshoots, such as Captain America: Brave New World and Snow White.

However, there were also some disappointing returns from films like Fantastic Four: First Steps, Tron: Ares, and Elio. But Disney backloaded the year with two nearly guaranteed hits: Zootopia 2 and Avatar: Fire and Ash.

So far this Thanksgiving, Zootopia 2 hasn’t disappointed, with a monster five-day opening weekend that includes breaking one of Disney’s pre-COVID records. Estimates suggest that Zootopia 2 will make well over $500 million in its Thanksgiving opening weekend. Zootopia 2 has a chance of surpassing the domestic box office record set by Moana 2 last year, which opened with $225.4 million in America.

However, that’s not the most impressive record that Zootopia 2 broke this weekend. The film made $104 million in China on Saturday alone. That broke the record held by Avengers: Endgame for the single best day at the box office by a Hollywood film in China. It also becomes the best opening weekend for a U.S. title in China since 2021.

What makes Zootopia 2’s numbers all the more impressive is that it still has not opened worldwide. The films only opened in the United Kingdom and Spain on Friday and won’t open in Japan until December, which will surely boost their box office numbers.

In both the U.K. and Spain, Zootopia 2 had the third-highest opening weekend for a Walt Disney Animation Studios film behind Moana 2 and Frozen 2.

It looks like Disney’s latest sequel was able to wipe out Wicked 2 and is well on its way to becoming only the second film to surpass $1 billion this year at the box office. With Fire and Ash coming soon, 2025 could end up being a good year for Disney after all.

What did you think of ‘Zootopia 2’? Let us know in the comments.