Disney's Zootopia 2 soared past the $500 million mark in China over the weekend, continuing one of the most impressive runs for a Hollywood release in the market in years. The achievement is a significant leap from the original Zootopia, which gradually climbed through word of mouth to reach $236 million in 2016, then a record-setting total for an imported animated feature.
According to Artisan Gateway, the animated sequel grossed an estimated $55 million over the weekend, lifting its cumulative China total to $500.6 million (RMB 3.55 billion), making it the first imported animation to hit the half-billion mark. The achievement is all the more striking given that late November and early December are typically among the quietest stretches on China's release calendar, a period when studios often avoid launching major titles ahead of the year-end holiday corridor.
With this milestone, Zootopia 2 has cemented its status as the second-highest-grossing Hollywood film of all time in China, trailing only Avengers: Endgame, which finished its 2019 run at roughly $632 million. It now sits well ahead of other studio tentpoles from China's box office boom era, including The Fate of the Furious ($393 million), Furious 7 ($390 million), and Avengers: Infinity War ($359 million).
The China result has played a decisive role in Zootopia 2's broader blockbuster performance worldwide. The film crossed $1 billion after just 17 days in release, becoming the fastest PG-rated film in history to reach that milestone. As of Sunday, the sequel had earned $259.6 million in North America and roughly $1.08 billion globally, with China accounting for nearly half of its worldwide total.
In terms of local releases, Zootopia 2 dominated the landscape this past weekend. In second place was Gezhi Town, an estimated $10.2 million, bringing its total to $43 million after nine days. The period war drama, produced by Daylight Entertainment, stars Xiao Zhan and centers on civilians navigating survival in a besieged town during wartime – a genre that has resonated with mainstream Chinese audiences most consistently this year.
Another new local title, Emperor Motion Pictures' Under Current, placed third with about $1.2 million, pushing its cumulative gross to $3.1 million. Lionsgate's Now You See Me: Now You Don't continued its impressive run in fourth place, earning roughly $700,000 for a $39.7 million total. Rounding out the top five was a limited reissue of local arthouse star Jia Zhangke's Mountains May Depart, which grossed around $400,000, lifting its lifetime cume to $5 million.
This result is a big win for Disney, showcasing that the studio can still mobilize truly broad, cross-generational audiences in China's increasingly selective theatrical environment. The company will soon test this prowess again with the release of James Cameron's Avatar: Fire and Ash, set to open nationwide in China on Dec. 19.
