People keep complaining about how the box office isn’t what it used to be, and how the pandemic pushed boomers toward streaming, but one crucial part of the equation is that, since 2020, China — the world’s second-largest box-office market — has effectively shut its doors to Hollywood.
It’s still debated why China has suddenly become such a lukewarm market for Hollywood, but the general theories revolve around heightened protectionism, political tension, and shifting audience tastes. Chinese regulators have drastically limited foreign film imports in favor of boosting domestic productions, especially nationalistic blockbusters that now dominate the market.
Still, “Zootopia 2” can now thank China for officially becoming the highest-grossing Disney animated movie of all time, with a worldwide total of $1.46 billion. It surpassed the previous record holder, “Frozen 2,” which earned $1.45 billion in 2019.
Nearly 40% of the $1.46 billion that “Zootopia 2” has amassed so far has come from China alone, with more to come as the film continues to show strong legs there—even with “Avatar: Fire and Ash” playing in thousands of theaters. To date, the film has earned nearly $600 million in that market.
By comparison, “Zootopia 2” has earned just $333M in the United States — less than what James Gunn’s “Superman” amassed this summer ($354M). However, that film had weak international returns and ultimately topped out at $616M worldwide.
In fact, and despite the record-high worldwide tally, “Zootopia” is only the sixth highest grossing film of 2025, domestically speaking, right behind “Wicked: For Good,” “Jurassic World Rebirth,” “Superman,” “Lilo snd Stitch,” and this year’s champ, “A Minecraft Movie.”
No matter how you look at it, and even with a few Marvel disasters, Disney has enjoyed an exceptional year—standing alone as the only studio to surpass $6 billion at the global box office. Given the overwhelming demand in China, it’s safe to assume plans are already in motion for Zootopia 3.