Nine years after Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde first cracked a case, Zootopia 2 is proving that sequels are still the winning formula at the box office. After setting numerous records with its $556 million opening weekend over Thanksgiving, the sequel has surged past $900 million worldwide and has guaranteed Disney its second $1 billion hit of the year. With Avatar: Fire and Ash set to easily pass the huge milestone in a couple of weeks’ time, it looks like another hat-trick is on the cards for the second time in as many years.
Back in 2019, Disney had no less than eight movies break the $1 billion mark, but in the six years since, thanks in part to the Covid pandemic, the House of Mouse has only had 6 movies join the billion-dollar club, with three of those coming in 2024. Although it has taken a long time for Disney to find its feet again – and with missteps still happening – this year’s triple-crown of hits has made it clear that when the studio gets it right, they really get it right.
Zootopia 2 has been a phenomenal performer in China, which has been a massive boost to the film’s charge up to third place in the 2025 worldwide box office chart. While many movies have struggled to make an impact in Asia, Zootopia 2 became the first Hollywood movie ever to take over $100 million in one day, and snatched the record for the highest opening at the China box office to boot. The film is now almost guaranteed to sweep past $1 billion by the end of this week.
Disney Can Really Step Up as a Dominant Box Office Force in the Next Few Years
Following 2024’s releases of Inside Out 2, Deadpool & Wolverine, and Moana 2 all topping $1 billion to become the three highest grossing movies of the year, Disney will be following another three monster movies with another potentially huge set of wins in 2026 and 2027.
Next year, Marvel Studios releases of Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Avengers: Doomsday are both likely to join the elite club of movies to add nine zeroes to their box office totals, and The Mandalorian & Grogu and Toy Story 5 could well do the same. In 2027, Star Wars: Star Fighter, Frozen 3, and Avengers: Secret Wars will be in contention to be among the highest grossing movies of the year, and that is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Disney’s attack on the box office charts with expansions in their biggest IPs.
While Disney do have several new movies in the pipeline that are not linked to already established franchises, it is clear that Bob Iger’s belief that the money really lies in the many beloved IPs that Disney owns has been proven several times over in the last few years, and will be cemented as the decade draws to a close. With more Avatar, Star Wars, and Marvel movies forming cornerstones of Disney’s next few years, other studios are going to have to pull out something special to steal that ear-shaped crown.
- Release Date
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November 26, 2025
- Director
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Byron Howard, Jared Bush
- Writers
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Jared Bush
- Producers
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Jennifer Lee