Zootopia 2 May Claw Its Way to the Biggest Box Office Opening Ever. Disney’s highly anticipated animated sequel, Zootopia 2, is poised for a potentially historic global opening this Thanksgiving weekend, with projections suggesting it could challenge the all-time box office records. With positive reviews coming in, and a massive advertising budget, along with movie theater popcorn bucket and novelty tie-ins, Zootopia 2 (Zootropolis 2) will be a massive hit, but how big are its legs?
Initial tracking and overwhelming international pre-sales, particularly in China, have fueled intense speculation across the industry, with the Reddit community r/boxoffice buzzing about a debut that could break the billion-dollar barrier in its opening frame.
To truly become the biggest box office opening ever, Zootopia 2 would need to surpass a staggering number. Here are the current top three biggest worldwide opening weekends of all time (in USD):
- Avengers: Endgame 2019 – $1,223,641,4142
- Avengers: Infinity War 2018 – $640,521,2913
- Spider-Man: No Way Home 2021 – $600,506,041
To break the record, Zootopia 2 must not just beat the Marvel Cinematic Universe titans but utterly annihilate them, a feat considered nearly impossible for an animated film—until now. While its domestic opening is unlikely to top the biggest superhero films, its massive international potential, especially in a crucial market like China, is a game-changer.
The key to a potentially unprecedented worldwide opening lies in China, where the original Zootopia was a colossal success and where demand for the sequel is proving to be exceptional.
- Massive Pre-Sales: According to reports cited on r/boxoffice, Zootopia 2 pre-sales in China are stronger than those for almost any other Hollywood film in the post-pandemic era, with early 5-day pre-sales hitting over $34 million and some analysts predicting a 5-day opening weekend exceeding $200 million.
- Historical Context: To put this into perspective, its pre-sales were even tracking ahead of hits like Avatar: The Way of Water and are only trailing Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame among Hollywood films, indicating a cultural phenomenon.
The Thanksgiving holiday is a massive draw for family films. Based on current domestic and international tracking, the worldwide 3-day and 5-day totals could shape up as follows:
- Domestic Projections (North America): Industry tracking suggests a domestic 3-day (Fri-Sun) opening in the range of $102–$130 million, which would rival the record set by Moana 2 (139.8M) last year. The full 5-day Thanksgiving haul (Wed-Sun) is projected to be between $125 million and $160 million.
- International Projections (Excluding China): Given the original’s success, a launch exceeding $200 million from the rest of the international territories is a solid baseline.
Combined Worldwide Opening Weekend (Estimated):
- 3-Day Total: $400M – $530M+ Conservative estimate combining domestic, China, and remaining international markets.
- 5-Day Total: $550M – $700M+ High-end scenarios could push this into the realm of Avengers: Infinity War‘s opening, largely driven by an explosive China result.
While a $1.22 billion record-breaking opening is still highly improbable for any film, especially an animated sequel, an opening in the $600M to $700M range would cement Zootopia 2 as one of the biggest worldwide box office debuts of all time, potentially snatching the number two spot from Avengers: Infinity War.
Zootopia 2 May Claw Its Way to the Biggest Box Office Opening Ever
A Crucial Boost for The Walt Disney Company – This phenomenal performance comes at a critical time for The Walt Disney Company. The studio has already surpassed $4 billion at the global box office for 2025, buoyed by the billion-dollar success of Lilo & Stitch.
A massive opening for Zootopia 2 could instantly add a half-billion or more to that total, putting Disney firmly on track to exceed $6 billion for the year, especially with another massive franchise sequel, Avatar: Fire and Ash, still to come in December.
The stage is set for Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde to not just save the day in Zootopia but deliver a historic, market-defining victory for the Mouse House this holiday season.
