In 2025, Disney wasn’t as prolific at the box office as it has been in years past, but it wasn’t all bad news for the House of Mouse. One of the biggest hits of the year is the live-action Lilo & Stitch remake, which broke box office records during its Memorial Day opening en route to a $1 billion worldwide haul. For several months, Lilo & Stitch was actually the only Hollywood movie this year to cross that milestone (Chinese animated sequel Ne Zha 2 is at a whopping $2 billion), but people expected there would be others before the year comes to a close. Now, Disney can officially celebrate the fact that it’s distributed the two American movies of 2025 to gross $1 billion.
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According to Variety, Zootopia 2 has now hit the $1 billion mark. Impressively, it accomplished this feat in just 17 days, which is a record for a PG-rated movie. The sequel’s strong showing overseas played a significant role in getting it to this point; Zootopia 2 has already earned $753.4 million internationally (a record showing in China contributed to that). It’s become the 13th animated film in history to earn $1 billion worldwide, following the footsteps of its predecessor.
How Zootopia 2 Reached $1 Billion at the Worldwide Box Office
Billion-dollar blockbusters aren’t as common as they once were (there were nine released just in 2019), but Zootopia 2 always seemed like a plausible candidate to join the club. The performance of the original film established this franchise as one of Disney’s most popular and lucrative. Both movies received a sizable boost from word of mouth. After the first Zootopia became an Oscar-winning modern animated classic, the sequel followed suit with another entertaining and thought-provoking story that balanced social commentary with comedic hijinks. The Zootopia movies would probably be big box office hits even without their level of critical acclaim, but it doesn’t hurt that they’re also critical darlings.
Zootopia 2 also benefited from a dearth of competition at the box office. It was the first major family movie to hit theaters in months, meaning it was able to seize control over its target demographic. There also hasn’t been much else of note playing. Wicked: For Good got off to a record-breaking start of its own just days before Zootopia 2 hit theaters, but the musical follow-up doesn’t hasn’t been as big of a draw as its predecessor. To date, Wicked: For Good has earned $445.6 million globally. While that figure is nothing to sneeze at, there’s also a massive gap between it and Zootopia 2. Video game adaptation Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 was a surprise winner at the box office last weekend, but it similarly may not have the strongest legs. Zootopia 2 has retaken the top spot on the daily domestic charts as of December 9th.
With Avatar: Fire and Ash still to come this month over the Christmas window, Disney executives can breathe a sigh of relief as 2025 comes to a close. Based on some of the box office numbers this year, the studio still has some things to figure out (Marvel’s waning popularity, the current state of Pixar), but it’s better to end 2025 on a high note. In all likelihood, Fire and Ash will match (and probably far exceed) Zootopia 2‘s haul. James Cameron is trying to remain level-headed about the film’s box office prospects, but the first two Avatar movies easily went past the $2 billion mark. There’s a very realistic chance Disney distributes the only three Hollywood productions to gross over $1 billion this year.
Unsurprisingly, Disney has plans in place to continue the Zootopia franchise. A third installment hasn’t been officially announced yet, but the presence of a tantalizing post-credits scene in Zootopia 2 is all the confirmation fans need to know there will be another film soon. Hopefully, it doesn’t take another nine years for Zootopia 3 to become a reality. With many of Disney’s usual staples coming up short at the box office this year, it’d be smart to strike when the iron is hot — as long as the Zootopia 3 story isn’t rushed.
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Image courtesy of Netflix -
Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics
