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What 'Zootopia 2's' success in China shows Hollywood
Los Angeles Times
|December 08, 2025
It used to be that China was a gold mine for certain types of U.S. films.
Los Angeles Times photo illustration; photograph from Disney
Big studio blockbusters. Action movies. Animated flicks for the whole family. (All with the caveat, of course, that they were approved by the Chinese government).
Those films could regularly bring in north of $100 million just in China, turning some flops into success stories.
But in recent years, the demand for American films dried up. Until last week, the top-grossing American film in China this year was Universal's "Jurassic World Rebirth," which brought in $79 million there.
That's why the box office performance of Walt Disney Co.'s "Zootopia 2" was such a surprise. During its opening weekend in China, the movie grossed $272 million over, making it the biggest opening ever for a non-local animated movie. Overall, the movie grossed $556 million in global ticket sales over the holiday weekend.
As I wrote last month, industry experts and studio executives were closely watching to see how "Zootopia 2" would fare in China's increasingly restrictive market.
This story is from the December 08, 2025 edition of Los Angeles Times.
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