Zootopia 2 Becomes China’s Highest-Grossing Foreign Animated Film
Zootopia 2 has become China’s highest-grossing foreign animated film, earning about 2 billion yuan within its first seven days. On its fourth day, the film set a single-day box office record for an imported title, surpassing Avengers: Endgame. In 2025, Hollywood releases licensed in China have grossed approximately 5.7 billion yuan, with Zootopia 2 contributing roughly 40% of that total, out of 48 Hollywood titles licensed this year.
The success of Zootopia 2 comes at a time when domestic Chinese productions are gaining significant market share. For example, Ne Zha 2 has helped push the domestic box office to 15.4 billion yuan. However, Zootopia 2’s achievements surpass the original Zootopia’s Chinese box office take of about 1.5 billion yuan.
A popular new character voiced by Ke Huy Quan, Gary De’Snake, ties into the film’s alignment with the Chinese zodiac year of the snake in 2025. The film has enjoyed a six-week cinema screening period in China, longer than the usual four weeks, according to producer Jared Bush.
Shanghai Disneyland hosts the world’s only Zootopia-themed land, and the 2016 marketing efforts for the original film helped build familiarity that benefited the sequel. While the Chinese government continues to promote patriotic, domestic-oriented blockbusters such as wolf-warrior epics as part of its cinema strategy, imports like Zootopia 2 remain allowed under tighter licensing regulations.
