Zootopia 2 Conquers the Chinese Box Office

For many, Zootopia 2’s performance for the Chinese market was a litmus test for whether Hollywood still has any hope of Chinese box office traction, and it has certainly delivered. We have Blake & Wang P.A. entertainment attorney, Brandon Blake, to share his thoughts.

The sequel managed to pull in $272 million in its first week on Chinese screens, with the total expected to climb well past the $500 million mark. It’s a huge win for Disney, of course, but in many ways, it’s a win for all of Hollywood too.

The film has been performing ridiculously strongly in almost all markets, a combination of a sweet, formulaic, but still engaging plot, the IP traction from the first film, and some excellent timing and marketing from Disney itself, bringing a family winner to screens just as we enter the festive season. As with the domestic market itself, the film has received both local critical acclaim and an impressive set of social scores.

Notably, its Chinese performance has been exactly what we once would have expected from the market. However, there’s been a notable post-pandemic swing to local movies in recent years.

In fact, Zootopia 2 has managed to net itself the second-best opening for any US film in China, lagging only behind Avengers: Endgame, which managed to take $330.5 million at the peak of the superhero craze. Of course, this means it has also set almost every possible record a non-local animation could.

This year also saw Jurassic World: Rebirth perform strongly for Chinese audiences, although it topped out at a relatively paltry $79 million. Maoyan currently believes Zootopia 2 will bring in about $590 million across its release cycle.

 Not that Disney didn’t have high hopes indeed for the film’s Chinese performance, after the first installment also became something of a runaway hit locally. It opened to a far more modest $22 million, but accelerated to become the biggest imported animation at the time.

However, did it take a theme park to build on that base? Let’s not forget that Disney has also recently (2023) opened their first Zootopia-themed attraction, coincidentally at their Shanghai resort. It has since been one of the park’s most popular attractions, keeping the Zootopia craze high for locals.

Looking ahead, Disney has one more high-stakes title in the works for this year, and it may have similar Chinese potential. Namely, Avatar: Fire and Ash. As with Zootopia, this particular franchise has forged deep emotional bonds with local watchers, bringing a potent combination of nostalgia for the original, which opened in one of China’s highest growth periods. The sequel was also well-received, and China was its second-highest performing territory, despite the zero-COVID rules still in play at the time.

For Hollywood, a second strong Chinese performance right now could be a strong indicator that the audiences are still keen on Hollywood products, even if the market is sluggish at the moment.

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