‘Zootopia 2’ Crosses $1B, Becomes The Ninth-Highest-Grossing Animated Film Ever

Disney’s Zootopia 2 continued its impressive box office run over the past weekend, reclaiming the No. 1 position in North America over its third frame.

The sequel earned an estimated $26 million over the three days, showing off strong staying power with little competition as the holiday window quickly approaches, when titles like Avatar: Fire and Ash and The SpongeBob Movie: Search for Squarepants will arrive.

After three weekends, Z2’s North American total now stands at $259 million, placing it well ahead of most recent animated theatrical releases at the same point in their runs.

Globally, the Jared Bush and Byron Howard-helmed sequel remains the dominant force in theaters. The film’s worldwide box office has surpassed $1.13 billion, putting it ahead of the lifetime gross of the original Zootopia and cementing the sequel’s status as one of the highest-grossing animated films of all time – it’s currently in ninth place, with plenty of room for more growth.

International markets account for nearly $880 million of the film’s global total, with China emerging as the standout territory. There, the film has raked in more than $500 million, making it one of the most successful Hollywood imports there in recent years.

This past weekend contributed $131 million from offshore markets. The impressive legs suggest strong word-of-mouth across age demographics and high rewatchability among moviegoers.

Back in the U.S., GKIDS, now owned by Japanese media giant Toho, will be celebrating as Studio MAPPA’s Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution grossed another $2.1 million, bringing its two-week total to $14.5 million. Assembled from episodes of the series, this new distribution model has created an eye-watering new revenue stream for rightsholders of popular anime properties. Whether other franchises can drive audiences the way the Jujutsu Kaisen and Demon Slayer have done remains to be seen, but it seems a surety that other distributors will at least try.