‘Zootopia 2’ Overtakes ‘Minecraft’ As 2025’s Top Domestic Release

Jared Bush and Byron Howard’s Zootopia 2 has done something no animated sequel has managed before: it’s now the highest-grossing domestic release of its release year, 2025.

After 13 weeks in theaters, the Walt Disney Animation Studios film has crossed $424.2 million in North America and stands at roughly $1.85 billion worldwide, edging past A Minecraft Movie (which also featured extensive animation) and reshuffling the year’s box office hierarchy in the process.

Given the ridiculous success of Ne Zha 2 last year and the awards sweeps of Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters in the West, it’s perhaps been easy to overlook just how insane Z2’s theatrical run has been.

The numbers are staggering even by modern franchise standards. The sequel opened to a $559.5 million global five-day debut and hit the $1 billion mark in just 17 days, the fastest ever for an animated PG release. It’s also now the top-grossing Disney animated film and Hollywood animated film globally, period, and the highest-grossing MPA release of all time in China, an increasingly rare achievement as Hollywood’s footprint there continues to shrink.

What’s perhaps more notable than the opening fireworks are the film’s furry legs. Zootopia 2 has remained in the domestic top ten for 13 straight weeks, suggesting genuine audience buy-in and multiple viewings, rather than a front-loaded fandom rush. Even excluding China, the sequel has already outperformed the original Zootopia’s entire worldwide run, underscoring how much the franchise has grown since 2016.

Critically, the film has landed well with audiences, posting a 96% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and earning a slate of awards nominations across the usual animation-heavy bodies. In most other years, the film would be a heavy awards season favorite. Whether or not it ultimately takes home additional hardware this year – it just won the animated feature BAFTA over the weekend, the takeaway is clear: theatrical animation, when treated as a true event and backed by strong word of mouth, can and will still dominate the global box office.